October 22，2025
In a significant step for sustainable technology, Latvian telecommunications company Tet is constructing one of Northern Europe's most advanced and energy-efficient data centers. The €30 million facility, designated DC7, will be a fully "green" operation, with its waste heat channeled to warm homes in the neighboring town of Salaspils.
Scheduled to welcome its first clients by September 2026, the data center is specifically engineered to support high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. It will feature innovative liquid-cooled server racks capable of handling power densities from 30 kW to approximately 100 kW, powered by NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs).
A Modern Hub in the Baltics
Construction on the DC7 data center began in May 2025 in Salaspils, located 18 kilometers from the capital, Riga. The site was strategically selected for its access to high-voltage power lines, ensuring uninterrupted operation, and its proximity to major fiber-optic trunks connecting to Germany and Scandinavia. The forthcoming Rail Baltica railway line will provide additional connectivity options.
This will be Tet's second facility to achieve the Uptime Institute's TIER III certification, a standard that allows for maintenance and hardware replacements without any service downtime. While the building's construction is a significant part of the project, the majority of the €30 million investment is allocated for specialized technical equipment. The project is slated for full completion by the end of 2028.
Engineered for High-Performance AI
The DC7 data center is designed with two server halls, each accommodating 110 racks. Half of these racks have already been delivered. A key feature is the inclusion of specialized liquid cooling "pools" for AI-dedicated servers—one hall has a pool for 10 racks, and the other for nearly 20.
These high-density racks, a significant step up from the standard 7-10 kW racks found in conventional data centers, will be hermetically sealed and filled with a special cooling liquid. A single server unit with eight NVIDIA GPUs costs around $250,000, and one rack can house up to 47 such units.
Maris Sperga, Director of the B2B Solutions Department at Tet, explained the flexible service model. "Not every customer needs these powerful cards all the time," he stated. "We integrate this infrastructure into our Tet Cloud. If a client needs to process data or train a model, they can connect to these resources and pay by the hour. It works as a full-fledged 'AI-as-a-Service.'"
Sustainable Energy and Resilient Power
The facility's power infrastructure includes two electrical substations—one primary and one for backup—and four diesel generators housed in special containers. These generators, with a combined fuel capacity of 25 tons, will use Neste My synthetic fuel. Unlike conventional diesel, this fuel does not degrade into paraffin over time and can be stored for up to 10 years without replacement, requiring topping up only after use.
An advanced uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system will support all critical equipment. In a power outage, the load instantly switches to batteries, which can sustain full operation for 15-20 minutes, providing ample time for the generators to start. The generators can then operate autonomously for 24 hours.
Waste Heat to Warm Homes
Anticipating the European Union's 2030 mandate for climate-neutral data centers, Tet has designed DC7 to recycle its waste heat. The center features three large chillers that will transfer excess heat to the local utility, Salaspils Siltums.
The system operates by drawing in coolant from the city at 11°C. After circulating through the data center's heat exchangers, the coolant is returned to the utility at 28-30°C. Salaspils Siltums then further heats the liquid and distributes it to the municipal heating grid, with the output expected to be sufficient for approximately 700 households.
A Niche Focus on Service and Flexibility
According to Sperga, Tet's strategy is not to compete directly with hyperscale cloud providers like AWS or Microsoft Azure on volume, but to differentiate through personalized service and flexibility.
"Our biggest advantage is that we adapt to the needs of our customers as much as possible," Sperga said. "We provide atypical amounts of cloud services and implement custom cybersecurity solutions. A large client has a direct connection with us, avoiding the long wait times often associated with larger providers."
He concluded by emphasizing the company's forward-looking vision: "We are focused on service and quality. This focus ensures our growth in promising areas like artificial intelligence and, looking ahead, quantum networks."
SOURCE dev.ua
