Google Confirms Data Center in Finland

It’s official: Google will build a major data center at a former paper mill in Hamina, Finland, the company said today. Google bought the former Stora Enso newsprint plant for $51 million last month, and said it was “likely” to use the facility for a data center. Today Google posted details about the Hamina project on the data center section of its web site.

Google said it expected to invest 200 million Euros (about $252 million) in the project. That’s a smaller investment than the $600 million the company has announced for U.S. projects in North Carolina, South Carolina and Iowa. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the smaller number reflects a change in scope for Google’s capital expenditures on data centers or was related to the specifics of the Hamina property.

“When fully developed, this facility will be a critical part of our infrastructure for many years to come,” Google said. “Limited testing of the facility should be underway in 2010 and the center should be fully operational later that year.”