STACK Infrastructure (STACK), the digital infrastructure partner to some of the world’s most innovative companies and a leading global developer and operator of data centres, and Hafslund Oslo Celsio (Celsio), the district heating provider for Norway’s capital city, have successfully completed a one-year ramp-up and excess heat produced by STACK’s OSL01 data centre is now providing heat and hot water for up to 5,000 Oslo homes.
The idea to feed heat from STACK’s OSL01 data centre near the heart of Oslo into the city’s district heating system was first conceived in 2018. Over the following years, the concept was tested and proven and a dedicated heat-exchange plant was built on STACK’s campus, where new insulated pipework and cooling coils were retrofitted to the data centre.
The partnership creates a circular economy for energy and STACK’s OSL01 data centre now exports around 3.5MW of heat energy into the Oslo district heating system, reducing Celsio’s alternative energy production by 25,000,000kWh (25GWh). The use of excess heat in district heating frees green electricity for alternative uses, including for example electrification of the transport sector.
District heating is an important component of city infrastructure in Norway. The 60-mile thermal energy distribution system, operated by Celsio, efficiently shifts energy from areas with excess to areas in need.
The cooperation represents an invaluable new model as these systems are faced with growing demand but restricted energy resources. Retrofitting or designing facilities to reutilise excess heat enables data centres to optimise consumption and support local communities.
“It is a great pleasure to see the collaboration with STACK come to fruition and I’m sure this is the first of several projects to come,” said Knut Inderhaug, Managing Director, Hafslund Oslo Celsio.
