Tieto chooses Fortum’s eco-efficient energy solution for its new data centre

Tieto has chosen an innovative energy solution developed by Fortum for its data centre under construction. The first phase of the data centre will be completed in Espoo, Finland, next December (press release, 25 January 2010). Energy efficiency is one of the major design criteria of the centre, which is based on state-of-the-art technology.

In the solution by Fortum, the data centre is refrigerated by means of thermal pumps, and the heat from the servers is fully utilised in Espoo’s district heating. Tieto’s data centre will annually produce about 30 gigawatt hours of heat, corresponding to the annual heat energy consumption of approximately 1 500 detached houses. Amount of heat recovered in the district heating network will be the highest ever achieved with a solution like this.

The energy solution will decrease the carbon dioxide emissions of district heat produced in Espoo by almost 10 000 tonnes a year, as the heat produced by the data centre can be used for to replace separate heat production in the area.

“The energy-efficient data centre will be built by combining an effective energy solution with state-of-the-art technology. Fortum will supply us with the energy solution. Tieto will focus on energy-saving equipment and services, such as virtualisation and cloud services. Virtualisation means that a single physical server may contain several virtual servers, which means that resources can be used in the most efficient way. Using cloud services, precisely the amount of capacity that customers need at a given time can be reserved for them. These make for an outcome that saves energy,” says Ari Karppinen, Country Head of Tieto Finland.

“Our energy solution is very environmentally friendly, since for the first time the thermal energy produced by the data centre will be recovered for the district heating network all year round. Tieto was looking for an energy solution which would best support the idea of sustainable development, and we were happy to be able to provide such a solution,” says Jouni Haikarainen, Vice President, Fortum.

Tieto is an IT service company providing IT, R&D and consulting services. With approximately 16 000 experts, we are among the leading IT service companies in Northern Europe and the global leader in selected segments. We specialize in areas where we have the deepest understanding of our customers’ businesses and needs. Our superior customer centricity and expertise in digital services set us apart from our competitors.

www.tieto.com

Fortum is a leading energy company focusing on the Nordic countries, Russia and the Baltic Rim area. Activities cover the generation, distribution and sale of electricity and heat and the operation and maintenance of power plants. Our vision is to be the benchmark power and heat company excelling in sustainability. In 2009, Fortum’s sales totalled EUR 5.4 billion and operating profit was EUR 1.8 billion. The company employs approximately 11,500 people. Fortum’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.