Facebook expands its data centre in Odense – ensures district heating for 11.000 households
Facebook is aiming for a global CO2-neutral operation
Facebook’s data centres, including the data centre in Odense, are some of the most energy efficient data centre facilities in the world. In this regard, Odense Data Center has obtained LEED Gold certification for its energy efficiency, as Facebook recycled 99,8 percent of all their construction waste during the construction of the first phase.
Facebook focuses on building energy efficient data centres and ensuring a CO2-neutral climate development. From this year, Facebook’s global operations will be CO2-neutral and supplied with 100 percent renewable energy.
The green value proposition of Denmark – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assists foreign investors
When Facebook in 2017 chose Denmark as their 3rd location in Europe for their large data centre, which runs millions of users’ social activities on Facebook and Instagram, it happened after a thorough research with extensive assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ investment promotion office, Invest in Denmark.
Important criteria for locating large international data centres include stable and adequate power supply, possible access to 100 percent green power, extensive fibre infrastructure with high capacity, possibility for very large and suitable building plots and a peaceful and stable societal development. According to the World Bank’s analysis, Denmark also has the fastest process for building permits in Europe.
As Denmark fulfils the above stated conditions, it was obvious to promote Denmark as an ideal location for data centres to Facebook. The possibility of utilizing the surplus heat from the data centre for the benefit of the citizens of Odense was a further argument for Facebook choosing Denmark.