Delska begins work on GBP £30m data centre in Riga

Delska has marked an important milestone in the construction of its forthcoming Tier III-certified, 10 MW data centre in Riga with a topping-out ceremony.

The facility, which is set to become one of only 20 LEED-certified buildings in Latvia, is scheduled to commence operations in August 2025. The data centre represents a GBP £30 million investment and aims to set benchmarks for sustainable construction and energy efficiency within the Baltic region.

The new data centre will offer a range of IT and network solutions in a scalable environment, starting with a capacity for up to 1,000 racks across a 6,000-square-metre area. It has plans to expand the capacity to 30 MW on owned land, catering to the increasing demands of hyperscalers, artificial intelligence (AI), and high-power computing tasks. The facility will also provide redundant connectivity to major global networks, facilitating reduced latency for users across Europe.

The topping-out ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including the Latvian Speaker of the Parliament, Daiga Mierina, Minister of Climate and Energy, Kaspars Melnis, Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development, Inga Berzina, and members of the Riga City Council. These leaders underscored the significance of the project for the Latvian economy, highlighting its role in promoting sustainable business practices and enhancing the IT industry's export potential and global competitiveness.

Delska aims for the new facility to be fully powered by renewable energy, aligned with its target of achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2030. The centre will utilise backup generators running on Neste MY diesel, a renewable resource, and will be equipped with an energy-efficient Vindur CoolW@ll cooling system. The data centre's power usage effectiveness (PUE) is projected to be below 1.3.

"With the establishment of this data center, we are fully prepared to deliver the required space and power capacity, especially when power-demanding AI tools have seen a significant increase, and Europe is lacking the required power and data center capacity. Shifting from dense data center hubs to other regions is inevitable, and the Baltic region is an ideal choice for your data storage and processing. We are here to accommodate specific business IT needs and offer custom IT solutions tailored for your industry," explains Andris Gailitis, the CEO of Delska.

The demand for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, digital transformation, and cloud services is fuelling data consumption growth. Data centres must efficiently deliver content globally to support smart homes, video streaming platforms, and AI tools effectively. Companies seek to expand operations while minimising IT infrastructure expenditures.

Delska's facilities in Northern Europe are strategically appealing due to the region's cold climate, which supports energy-efficient operations. The centres require less energy for cooling, allowing Delska to offer competitive pricing. The company has invested in existing data centre infrastructure, enhancing energy efficiency by updating cooling systems and utilising waste heat from the Riga data centre for office heating. Moreover, Delska employs a skilled team of multilingual IT professionals, supporting customers across more than 40 countries.

Looking ahead, Delska plans to construct another data centre in Lithuania and expand its operations to build a comprehensive regional data centre and network ecosystem.