Hamina (Finland) - Structural change in a seaport location
Resources
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 79 | Ill. 4
Overview
Hamina is a port city with about 20,000 inhabitants located on the southern coast of Finland (Gulf of Finland) and could have intensive trade relations with Estonia or Russia via the Baltic Sea. Since 2009, however, part of the city's harbour has been one of Google's six European data centres. Why?
A new and innovative industry?
Google operates its own data centres worldwide to ensure that all services are always and extensively available. In North America alone, 14 Google Cloud Platform locations ensure permanent availability. In Europe, such locations include Hamina (Finland), Dublin (Ireland), Eemshaven and Middenmeer (Netherlands), Fredericia (Denmark) and Saint-Ghislain (Belgium). A former paper mill, the binational forestry company Stora Enso (Sweden/Finland) is widely known for its paper and packaging production. It was acquired by Google in 2009 to establish a data centre. By 2011, initial facilities had been built with an investment of 200 million euros and the employment of more than 2,000 people. By 2020, it was planned that another 600 million euros would be invested. In total, approximately 2 billion euros have thus been spent in Finland on the expansion and modernisation of the data centre since 2009. Google itself describes that over 4,000 jobs a year depend on these investments.
Author:
Tom Fleischhauer
Making structural change visible
First of all, on map one discovers an almost conventional seaport with all the facilities for loading and unloading that necessary for maritime shipping. The port itself is connected to Hamina or the surrounding area by roads and a train connection. In addition to large storage facilities and tank farms for oil and gas, storage areas for timber can be seen. The port is also the site of chemical industries and a refinery for biodiesel. High-voltage power lines provide electricity, and there are also facilities for wind energy.
In the northwest of the port, however, the aspect of structural change can be seen: A former paper mill has been converted into the Google Data Centre. The area itself is a specially protected site and closed off to unauthorised persons. Three large server farms exist, which were created or expanded in 2011, 2018 and 2021. Increased demand due to increased digitalisation in the wake of the global Corona pandemic can be assumed. The data centre itself is powered by a high-voltage transmission line, but also has a wind energy facility available on-site. Likewise, a fibre optic data cable to Helsinki is evident. Another special feature is the cooling of the server farms by water exchange from the Finnish gulf. For this purpose, Baltic Sea water is piped into the building, circulated, and then discharged again - this form of "natural cooling" can lead to a reduction in electricity consumption.
Author:
Tom Fleischhauer
