Microsoft highlights Vaasa and Mustasaari as key players in the data center industry
On the third day of Wasa Future Festival 2026, experts were brought together by Merinova and VASEK to discuss one of today’s most pressing issues – the strategic role of data centers. The panel highlighted the growth opportunities created by the data center boom in the Vaasa region, while also taking a critical look at electricity prices from the perspective of consumers and industry, security of supply, and the importance of also attracting investments from other industries.
Data centers are emerging as one of the key drivers of Finland’s future growth. Their integration into the energy system, combined with investments in energy infrastructure support the availability of competitively priced electricity and enable new investments. At the same time, data centers form the critical foundation of a modern, resilient society. The event explored how we, as a society, can create the best possible conditions for growth.
The event was opened by Joakim Strand, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, who in his speech highlighted the attractiveness of Finland as a destination for international investments and Ostrobothnia’s visible role in it. He also talked about the current era, where data and artificial intelligence are center stage. According to Strand, the important raw material of this digital era is energy know-how and the ability to process it, which enables the growth of companies and digital competitiveness.
Strand also challenged the current discussion surrounding data centers to go deeper and change focus.
– We need to look further. The discussion often focuses on a narrow perspective, such as how data centers create jobs, generate tax revenue, enable the utilization of excess heat and potentially increase electricity prices. Strategically, a much more important question is what data centers bring to the Finnish energy system, said Strand.
Data centers in the GigaVaasa area
The host of the event, Marko Kuokkanen, CEO of Technology Center Merinova, began the discussion by highlighting the sudden and significant increase in interest in the GigaVaasa area among potential data center investors.
The current status of the Microsoft project in the GigaVaasa area in Vaasa and Mustasaari is that earthworks are now underway, and a building permit application has been submitted to Mustasaari. The application will also be submitted to Vaasa in September, and the plan is to begin the work as soon as possible. In the autumn, an event for residents will be arranged to inform everyone about the status and progress of the project.
– We can see many strengths in the Vaasa and Mustasaari region. The region has energy know-how, technological capability, innovation and much more, Sanna Suikki-Tuupanen, Land Development Lead, Nordics, Microsoft, said.
She talked about the role of Finland as a whole, as well as Vaasa and Mustasaari as important regions for data center investments.
– A data center is not just a building filled with servers. It is an enabler of the infrastructure where data lives. The digitalisation of education, research and industry, as well as cloud services, is enabled by data centers.
According to Suikki-Tuupanen, digital infrastructure, cloud services and artificial intelligence make the current era an enabler of innovation, new know-how, growth and the strengthening of Finland’s competitiveness.
In the panel discussion, high-level experts from both the public sector and the business community explored the topic from different perspectives.
The public sector was represented by Timo Jaatinen, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and Janne Känkänen, Director General of the Finnish Security and Defence Agency. The business perspective was represented by Suikki-Tuupanen and representatives from two companies with a strong presence in the Vaasa region’s data center and energy ecosystem: Jens Norrgård, Energy Business Director at Wärtsilä, and Mats Söderlund, Deputy CEO of EPV Energia.
According to Jaatinen, data center investments are very positive, but we should not forget other industries. The current situation is that we are seeing strong interest from data center investors in Finland, but less interest from the carbon, battery and green steel industries.
Söderlund believes that the investments from Microsoft bring many benefits. However, he also raised concern about how low electricity prices affect the industry. He said that we should have a society that is ready to accept the prices that the green transition brings, so that all actors in the market can operate at the prices they receive from the market.
– As a data center actor, it is extremely good to see that there is strong support and belief among many actors. It is important that we work together to find a solution for how we can keep electricity prices reasonable for consumers, also during peak periods, said Suikki-Tuupanen.
