Microsoft has officially launched its “Denmark East” datacentre region, debuting a state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure across Høje Taastrup, Køge, and Roskilde. Designed with a primary focus on environmental responsibility, the new facilities aim to accelerate Denmark’s digital green transition while providing local data residency and advanced AI capabilities to the public and private sectors.
The region stands as a benchmark for circular energy, featuring Microsoft’s first operational at-scale waste heat recovery system in Denmark. The Høje Taastrup site is engineered to capture surplus heat for local district heating networks, providing warmth for approximately 6,000 homes. Furthermore, the datacentres are designed for LEED Gold certification, utilising zero water for cooling and achieving a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.16.
Mette Kaagaard, General Manager of Microsoft Denmark & Iceland, stated: “With the opening of Denmark East, we are strengthening Denmark’s digital resilience with a secure-by-default foundation… marks an important step in our long-term commitment to Denmark, enabling stronger sovereignty controls and new opportunities for innovation… guided by values such as transparency, accountability, and sustainability.”
To power these operations, Microsoft has secured long-term agreements for 130 MW of renewable energy annually, including the Svinningegården Solar Park. The shift from on-premises servers to this cloud infrastructure is projected by IDC to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 88,000 metric tons over four years.
Local leaders have praised the integration of technology with community wellbeing. Kurt Scheelsbeck, Acting Mayor of Høje Taastrup, noted: “The new park, which creates a green and safe transition between the datacenter and nearby residential areas, is a strong example of how development can go hand in hand with nature and quality of life.”
In Køge, the facility will eventually contribute to the local heating grid. Mayor Ken Kristensen said: “We are pleased that, over time, Microsoft’s new datacenter will contribute surplus heat to the local district heating network.”
For financial institutions like Nykredit, the sustainability of the infrastructure is matched by its security. Ulrik Have, CIO Technology at Nykredit, commented: “Microsoft’s new datacenter region in Denmark enables us to keep data local, reduce complexity, and lower latency… while maintaining the flexibility to deliver new digital solutions for our customers.”
