When most people think of Iceland, they think about majestic landscapes filled with glaciers and waterfalls, the breathtaking northern lights, and lively cities like Reykjavik that are bustling with activity and exciting events. However, Iceland offers something else that many people don’t often think of–an ideal location for housing data centers.
Thanks to Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, international companies are flocking to the Nordic country to fulfill their data center storage needs. Tracy Mayor of Computerworld recently highlighted the unique benefits Iceland offers the data center market. The country’s year-round cool temperatures, low risk for natural disasters and abundant low-cost, renewable energy sources make it an attractive site for data centers. Landsvirkjun is the leading energy provider in Iceland, where it supplies wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power to its customers.
According to Bjorgvin Sigurdsson, EVP of business development at Landsvirkjun, “Our power generation in Iceland is predominantly based on hydropower, but we are increasingly building out into geothermal turbines and now wind farms as well. Because all of these options are renewable, Iceland is able to make long-term agreements at fixed prices. And we’re not influenced by the changes in commodity markets — oil or gas or coal — which gives our clients great visibility into the future.” These factors make Iceland not only an environmentally friendly option, but also make for a sound economic decision.
Data center provider Verne Global partnered with Landsvirkjun to build a 45-acre state-of-the-art data center on a former NATO base just west of Reykjavik. The facility has enabled its customers, one of them being BMW, to cut its electricity costs by 80% by housing its high-performance computing applications in Iceland.
Click here to read Computerworld’s complete story.
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