Helios Nordic Energy Finland Oy, a subsidiary of Swedish developer Helios Nordic Energy AB, has unveiled plans to build a large-scale data center in the Koivu area of Tervola, a municipality in Finnish Lapland. The preliminary project footprint spans approximately 860 hectares, positioning it as one of the more ambitious digital infrastructure initiatives in the northern Nordic region.
The proposed site is located roughly 20 kilometers from central Tervola. Helios has already established a dedicated project company, Helios 1 Cranberry Oy, which has submitted a planning initiative to the municipality. The project will undergo a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) to evaluate whether the area is suitable for data center operations, a critical step in determining the project's feasibility and long-term viability.
The location offers notable energy advantages. A Fingrid power line already crosses the planning area, and the Finnish transmission system operator is developing a new Louepalo substation in the vicinity. Helios intends to connect the data center directly to this planned substation, ensuring reliable and scalable power supply—a decisive factor for large-scale digital infrastructure projects.
Jenny Hölttä, Project Developer at Helios, highlighted Finland's competitive edge in the sector. "Finland's strengths for locating data centers are a safe and predictable operating environment, a reliable electricity network, a cool climate and high-quality communication connections," she said. "Finland has an excellent opportunity to become one of the top countries in the field. The need for data centers is now growing significantly, and in the current world situation, it is in the interest of all of us internet users that information about us can be processed securely on servers located in Finland."
Mika Simoska, Mayor of Tervola, welcomed the initiative, noting the municipality's renewable energy profile. "Tervola municipality is profiled as Lapland's biomunicipality, where renewable energy is produced and utilized," he said. "It's great that Helios has started planning a data center project in our municipality. In this way, the renewable energy produced in Tervola and the surrounding area can be utilized locally."
If developed, the project would bring substantial investment and employment opportunities to Tervola, while generating additional tax revenue for the municipality. Helios also anticipates wider economic spillover effects across the surrounding region, reinforcing the strategic importance of the venture.
The project remains in its early planning phase. The EIA and municipal planning processes will ultimately determine the site's suitability and the conditions under which any future data center development may proceed.