Trout farm to harness waste heat from data centre

Norse data centre firm Green Mountain has entered into an agreement with Hima Seafood to use data centre waste heat to warm a land-based trout farm in Rjukan, Norway.

Waste heat from the DC2-Telemark data centre will be used at what reportedly will be the world’s largest land-based trout farm. When fully operational in 2023, the waste heat will be used in the production of 9,000 tonnes of trout annually.

“Although our data centres run on 100 per cent renewable hydropower, we do not like to waste the energy,” says Green Mountain’s Tor Kristian Gyland. “This project is a breakthrough example of circular economy – where the output of one company can benefit another, with an environmental benefit on top.”

The two facilities, only 800m apart, will be connected via a pipe system. Heat exchangers will ensure the Hima facility can use the energy from the data centre water to obtain the correct water temperature for its recirculation aquaculture technology (RAS) solution. The same water, after dropping to a lower temperature, will then be returned to Green Mountain and reused to cool the data centre.

“Green Mountain’s waste heat represents a significant cost saving in our production,” says Hima Seafood CEO Sten Falkum. “And we are thrilled that our heating requirements can help reduce the environmental footprint of Green Mountain and help cool the data centre in return. This truly is a win-win solution for both parties.”