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The Forum > Article Comments > The Artic cold a green lining for social networks > Comments

The Artic cold a green lining for social networks : Comments

By Roger Kalla, published 1/11/2011

Server farms for Facebooks and Wikileaks spring up in Sweden.

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Interestingly some of the hydropower generated from the mighty Lulea river goes to the local steel mill. However instead of letting the heat escape into the atmosphere from the steel making process it is used to create steam and electricity in a co generated power plant. This is in its turn used for heating the houses in Lulea, other sources of heat comes from burning timber refuse and garbage in centrally located furnaces that supply another part of the city with heating.

The more expensive electricity generated from hydropower plants is sold on to the highest paying customers ie Facebook and other power hungry companies that want to establish themselves close to a green renewable source of energy.

Those Swedes know what they are doing....
Posted by sten, Monday, 7 November 2011 4:18:49 PM
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I would have thought that the extreme cold would have meant a need for more power... why not move somewhere with a less extreme climate and thus less of an energy requirement?
Posted by Jennifer, Monday, 7 November 2011 5:43:00 PM
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The climate of the whole of the Scandinavian Peninsula is tempered by the warm Gulf stream emanating from the Gulf of Mexico and which passes along the coast of Norway. The climate in Lulea is a bit like Goldilocks porridge 'Just right' or 'lagom' as you would say in Sweden. Besides the natural advantages of a cool tempered climate the financial support of the Swedish Government probably also persuaded FB to go Arctic Sweden.

Come to think of it almost everything is 'lagom' in Sweden another thing that attracted Facebook to Sweden? Hmmmm...

If we were going to find a optimal place in Australia for Facebook or Google to place energy hungry server farms I would suggest that Tasmania is a good choice. Lots of hydropower, cooolish climate, not earth quake prone, and leading the nation in the National Broadband Network connectivity.

I see that Facebook and Google both have got Sydney offices. Perhaps someone from the Tasmanian Government should give them a call to see where the next server farm is going to be located?
Posted by sten, Tuesday, 8 November 2011 4:28:46 PM
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