Latvia's AI Ambition Realized: Delska Unveils Cutting-Edge Sustainable Data Center in Riga

RIGA, Latvia – April 15, 2026 – By Kathleen Cook

In a move set to reshape Northern Europe's digital landscape, data center operator Delska today officially launched EU North Riga LV DC1, a highly advanced 10 MW facility engineered specifically for the intense demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). The launch, attended by over 400 government officials, foreign dignitaries, and industry leaders, signals a pivotal moment for Latvia, positioning the nation as a formidable new hub for high-tech investment and digital sovereignty.

The facility has already garnered acclaim, earning first place in the "Production Facility, Industrial Building" category at the Latvian Construction Annual Award, a testament to its design and strategic importance.

A New Digital Beacon for the Baltics

The presence of Latvia's highest-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Speaker of the Parliament Daiga Mieriņa, underscored the project's national significance. Their speeches framed the data center not merely as a piece of commercial infrastructure, but as a cornerstone of Latvia's future economic resilience and national security.

"The opening of the Delska data center is a strong signal of Latvia's economic maturity and its ability to attract secure, high-added-value investments," stated Prime Minister Siliņa during the ceremony. "Today, digital infrastructure forms the foundation of both economic resilience and national security. This project is also an example of how technological development can be combined with sustainability."

Her words echo a growing consensus that regional data sovereignty is paramount. As data becomes an increasingly valuable and sensitive asset, the ability to store and process it within national or regional borders is critical. Delska's new facility provides this capability, strengthening the digital autonomy of Latvia and the wider Baltic region, which includes over 50 data centers operated by more than twenty providers.

Speaker Mieriņa, who attended the project's topping-out ceremony two years prior, remarked on the facility's rapid progression from concept to reality. "I am confident that EU North Riga LV DC1 will become a significant milestone in Latvia's digital development, proving our ability not only to follow global trends but also to actively shape them," she emphasized.

Answering Europe's AI Capacity Crunch

The Delska project arrives at a critical juncture for the European data center market. The continent's primary hubs—Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin (known as the FLAP-D markets)—are facing unprecedented strain. Surging demand, driven largely by the explosion of AI, has pushed vacancy rates to record lows, while grid power availability and land costs have become significant constraints. Some analysts report grid connection lead times of up to ten years in these saturated markets.

This capacity crunch is forcing businesses to look towards secondary and emerging markets, and Riga is proving to be a compelling alternative. The EU North Riga LV DC1 is not just another data hall; it is a direct answer to the specific needs of modern AI workloads. Its ability to support up to 250 kilowatts (kW) per rack is a key differentiator. For context, a traditional data center rack might consume 5-10 kW. Modern AI systems, packed with power-hungry GPUs, can easily demand over 100 kW per rack.

To manage the immense heat generated by such dense computing, the facility employs a hybrid cooling system that includes advanced free-cooling, hot-aisle containment, and the capacity for direct-to-chip liquid cooling—a technology up to 3,000 times more efficient than traditional air cooling. This technical foresight ensures the data center can support not only today's AI hardware but also the even more powerful systems of tomorrow.

The facility's modular design allows for flexible and rapid expansion from its initial 10 MW capacity up to 30 MW, ensuring it can scale alongside client demand. This combination of high-density power, advanced cooling, and scalability makes it a vital piece of infrastructure for companies struggling to find a home for their AI and HPC operations.

The Blueprint for Green Computing

Beyond its raw power, the EU North Riga LV DC1 sets a new regional standard for sustainability. The facility is powered by 100% certified renewable energy sourced from Northern European wind, solar, and hydro producers. This commitment is central to its ambitious goal of achieving a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating of less than 1.3. PUE is a measure of how efficiently a data center uses energy; a score of 1.0 is the theoretical ideal, and anything below 1.3 is considered highly efficient by industry standards.

This green ethos extends even to its backup systems. The facility's emergency generators run on Neste MY renewable diesel, a hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% compared to fossil diesel. This ensures that even in a power outage, the data center's environmental footprint remains minimal.

Further burnishing its green credentials, Delska is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification, which would make it the only data center in Latvia to hold this prestigious designation. The company is also in discussions with Riga's municipal heating company, "Rīgas Siltums," to explore opportunities for directing waste heat from the data center to the city's district heating network, turning a computational byproduct into a valuable community resource.

With its Tier III design ensuring 99.982% uptime and a robust network connecting it to major European hubs like Frankfurt and Amsterdam, the data center combines reliability with responsibility. As the first clients prepare to move in, the EU North Riga LV DC1 stands ready not just to power algorithms, but to power a new era of sustainable digital growth for Latvia and all of Northern Europe.