One of the world's largest biomedical research foundations is investing in a project that will convert a former NATO command center in Iceland into a data center. While the 430,000-square-foot project has its challenges, let's just say that cooling will not be one of them.From a datacenterdynamics.com article about the plan, which is the brainchild of data-center developer Verne Global:

Verne says its data center complex, whose total footprint is about 430,600 square feet, will take advantage of the large amount of free cooling available in Iceland, as well as its renewable energy sources and predictable power rates.

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"Large scale customers face a critical need to reduce substantially the power costs and carbon footprints of data centers," Wellcome Trust Investment Division's Dominic Ward said in a statement. "Verne Global is breaking new ground in using Iceland's natural green resources to mitigate both increasing emissions and rising energy costs."

And while Iceland's frosty climate will help keep this massive new data center cool, the funding arrangement with the huge biomedical-research charitable foundation shows that the investment category represented by data-center development is red hot.

The London-based foundation, called Wellcome Trust, has an investment portfolio of more than $21 billion, and the Iceland project will make Wellcome Trust the largest investor in Verne Global, which is based in Iceland, the article says.