The works of famed Odense writer Hans Christian Andersen depict Danish winters as literally the stuff of fairy tales — but in reality they are cold, wet, and dark. Now, thanks to Facebook’s data center in Odense, the third-largest city in Denmark will get some relief from the cold.

The custom-built Odense Data Center has been online since September, but its sustainability mission began years ago. The facility was located and designed with heat recovery in mind from the outset. The current goal is to recover and donate 100,000 MWh of energy annually from its servers — enough to warm 6,900 homes. This heat is donated to warm a local hospital and thousands of other buildings in the surrounding community. Like all Facebook’s data centers, this one is supported by 100 percent renewable energy.

Facebook is to build its third data center outside the United States in Denmark to store and manage the social media giant’s growing data, such as photos and videos, a Danish news website reported.

The 184,000 square meter facility will be built in Odense, the birthplace of writer Hans Christian Andersen, and will generate around 1,200 jobs to build it, Fyens.dk said.