Summary
- Finnish authorities have reportedly granted advance-possession rights for transmission corridors serving atNorth’s FIN04 campus.
- The 45-hectare Kouvola project is designed for up to 430MW and high-density, liquid-cooled workloads.
- Corridor rights advance the connection programme, but substations, transmission works, equipment, and phased energisation are still required.
atNorth has advanced the power route for its FIN04 data centre campus at Myllykoski in Kouvola after Finnish land authorities reportedly granted advance-possession rights for two transmission corridors connected to the development.
The routes are intended to carry transmission lines from the campus towards Fingrid’s planned Tuomijoki substation. A cleared corridor approximately 26 metres wide will be required, giving the project access to land needed for construction, inspection, and long-term maintenance of the electrical connection.
FIN04 occupies a 45-hectare site and has been designed around an eventual campus power capacity of as much as 430MW. That figure describes the development envelope rather than electricity already available to the site, and each phase will depend on completed substations, transmission infrastructure, network approvals, equipment deliveries, and customer commitments.
The grid connection has become a major construction package
Rejlers has been carrying out engineering work for the campus substations and transmission connection, covering permit and execution drawings, environmental assessment, earthing measurements, landowner agreements, and regulatory processes. In April, the engineering company said piling and earthworks at the substation sites were nearing completion, while tendering for the transmission connection was under way.
The land decision forms part of that wider programme. Transmission routes must accommodate electrical clearances, construction access, road and water crossings, environmental constraints, property boundaries, and the ability to maintain the infrastructure throughout its operating life.
At the scale proposed for FIN04, the connection cannot be treated as a utility package delivered after the data halls. It controls the development sequence, the capacity attached to each phase, and the point at which atNorth can make firm commitments to customers.
The campus’s €300 million initial construction programme is already taking shape, while the corridor decision advances the separate transmission route needed to bring high-voltage electricity into the site.
atNorth describes FIN04 as suitable for colocation and build-to-suit deployments, with an average design density of around 40kW per rack and support for liquid-cooled installations above 100kW. Cooling is expected to combine Finland’s low ambient temperatures with chilled-water systems and modular compressor capacity arranged around N+1 resilience.
Heat recovery is also planned in cooperation with KSS Energia. The usable volume and temperature of recovered heat will depend on installed IT load, customer occupancy, cooling-water temperatures, and the availability of a local network able to accept the output throughout the year.
Finland’s climate does not remove delivery constraints
Finland combines low ambient temperatures, substantial power infrastructure, and an established district-heating sector, but campuses measured in hundreds of megawatts still require extensive electrical engineering and long-lead equipment.
Substations need transformers, switchgear, protection and control systems, reactive-power equipment, communications, backup arrangements, and heavy civil works. Manufacturing periods can extend across several years, while construction must be coordinated with Fingrid’s own substation and transmission programme.
Campus capacity is also delivered progressively. A site designed around 430MW does not acquire an immediate right to draw that full load, and grid studies may impose operating conditions or restrict the size and sequence of individual phases.
High-density AI deployments add further coordination between electrical and mechanical systems. Liquid-cooling loops, pumps, heat exchangers, coolant distribution units, water treatment, and controls must be commissioned alongside the IT load, while the power system must accommodate rapid changes in demand without compromising network compliance or site resilience.
Backup infrastructure carries its own cost and environmental burden. A large campus may require extensive generator capacity, fuel storage, maintenance facilities, and emissions controls, even when emergency plant operates for only short periods. Finnish planning and environmental authorities will examine those systems separately from the renewable or low-carbon profile of grid electricity.
The corridor rights reduce a defined area of land and permitting risk, allowing procurement and physical delivery of the transmission route to progress. The remaining milestones include line construction, completion of the substations, confirmed energisation dates, and disclosure of the megawatts attached to the first operating phase.
