Finland’s Famous Cathedral Goes Green Underground
Uspenski Cathedral
12/1/2010
Overlooking the beautiful Helsinki hillside there sits Uspenski Cathedral, one of Finland’s most popular tourist attractions. Besides being an amazing example of the Eastern Orthodox Church, this cathedral is also on its way to becoming one of the greenest thermal energy producers in the world.
Underneath the cathedral, in a massive underground cave, a series of computer servers are capturing and channeling heat through a series of water-heated pipes. It’s called “cloud computing,” and the process, in a nutshell, basically uses waste to heat up water. Once the water is heated, it is distributed underground to heat homes in Helsinki.
The power generated by the underground computer system is equivalent to the power generated by a large wind turbine (which is enough to heat up 500 homes). It will not only be a great renewable energy source, but it will also cut hundreds of thousands of dollars off of the city’s energy bill.
There are still some bugs to fix with the cloud computing system, but overall it’s a great idea. The cathedral will securely protect the underground system, and if anybody tries to break in, they’ll have a holy mess on their hands!
