“Greenest data center in the world” offers customers fixed price power

Norway’s Green Mountain Data Centre, which bills itself as the greenest datacenter in the world by virtue of its use of 100% renewable power and seawater-based free cooling is now taking the additional step of offering its customers fixed price long-term contract prices on power, locking in specific rates for terms of three to ten years, starting at €37.5 per megawatt.

The Green Mountain facility, which is built into the side of a mountain overlooking the fjord that it uses to supply its cooling capabilities, is another datacenter complex built in a retired NATO facility, in this case an underground Naval ammunition storage base that was decommissioned 4 years ago. Coupling the natural advantages of a climate-controlled underground facility with the cool temperatures found in this part of Norway, Green Mountain got a head start in the energy efficiency game simply by the virtues of its physical location.

They’ve coupled that with the low cost of locally generated hydroelectric power (and minimal transmission costs, also due to location) to position themselves as the technical equivalent (a Tier 3+ carrier neutral facility) of any datacenter in Europe, but one that is able to offer customers power at prices lower than their competition in other countries. Unlike competitors such as Iceland, Norway is geologically stable and has no history of earthquakes or volcanoes, facts which Green Mountain uses to promote its services as a colocation provider.

Green Mountain, in an article on Datacenter Dynamics, has claimed that they believe that the fixed price model will be a significant differentiator in colocation services providers and be something that drives business to their facility. This is a far better business model that should draw more attention that previously given to the facility, which was primarily due to its novel location and use of seawater for cooling.