STARTS CONSTRUCTION IN FEW MONTHS

Microsoft has acquired a 120,000 hectares of land in Staffanstorp, a municipality located outside of Malmo in southern Sweden.

This recent property was bought from Kilen Krysset, a private real-estate firm. Although the cost and other transaction details of the acquisition have not been disclosed, Microsoft has confirmed it intends to construct a data center on the site. Also, the selection process and acquisition of the property have been a close collaboration between Business Sweden, Invest in Skane and Staffanstorp municipality.

“Microsoft’s multi-billion investment will be the largest in the municipality’s history,” said Christian Sonesson, chairman of Staffanstorp municipal council.

“It is difficult to overstate the importance of Microsoft’s major investment in Staffanstorp. Microsoft will be one of the municipality’s largest employers, and it will contribute to local social funds. These are not insignificant.”

In March, Microsoft purchased 130,000 hectares of land for its data centers in the Swedish municipalities of Gavle and Sandviken. This however, drew opposition from residents who said the facility would cause electricity shortages.

In response, Microsoft said in May that it had established a deal with power utility Vattenfall to make sure all electricity consumed by its Swedish data centers come from renewable resources.

“We have had a very broad and long-term relationship with Microsoft, and worked together during a number of years to identify suitable locations for a significant establishment,” said Tomas Sokolnicki, Investment Advisor at Business Sweden.

“Satya Nadella was here [in Sweden] in May and confirmed that the data centers in Sweden will be among the most sustainably designed and operated in the world with the ultimate ambition of achieving zero-carbon operations.”

Staffanstorp is a Swedish town, famous for being the home of fashionable Scandi house building. According to the council, Microsoft had arranged to make investments in local community projects such as schools, business schemes and culture, but still negotiating details.