2 developers interested in building a data center in Pärnu County

Renewable energy developer Evecon is planning to build a data center near Lihula with electricity consumption of up to 100 megawatts, while another developer has also expressed interest in building a data center in the area.

Evecon is seeking building rights from Lääneranna Municipality in Pärnu County to construct a data center with electricity consumption of up to 100 megawatts. According to the application to initiate a detailed spatial plan, the site covers approximately 22.4 hectares and is located northwest of Lihula.

The plan calls for up to six data center buildings, six cooling facilities, a 330-kilovolt substation and up to six auxiliary buildings. Evecon is also building Estonia's largest battery storage park in the same area.

Evecon CEO Karl-Joonatan Kvell told ERR that, according to the application, the data center's electrical capacity would be up to 100 MW, though its final capacity will be determined later.

Kvell said Evecon and its partners have previously built a large solar park in Lääneranna Municipality — the 77 MW Kirikmäe solar park — and are currently constructing a 55 MW/250 MWh battery storage park, which will be the largest in Estonia by capacity. The company is also developing a wind farm in the municipality.

"Evecon's business model to date has focused on developing energy generation and storage projects. Building data centers together with partners would be a natural next step from that model," Kvell said.

Lääneranna Deputy Mayor Henrik Raave said the planned location was chosen largely because of nearby renewable energy production and the area's electricity transmission capacity.

"There is a solar park here and wind turbines elsewhere in the municipality. My understanding is that the use of green energy is an important component for data centers. The other factor is, of course, the substantial electricity transmission capacity running through Lihula. The transmission line serving all of Saaremaa passes through here," Raave said.

Cooling data centers can require enormous amounts of water. According to the deputy mayor, the area does not face water shortages and he sees potential for reusing water heated by the facility.

"It could become industrial symbiosis or a form of symbiosis with the town. We have not yet had the chance to discuss it, because those opportunities would only arise if the data center is eventually completed," he said.

He added that if another company were to move nearby and use the excess heat generated by the data center in its own production processes, it would benefit both sides.

Raave said t