Norway pauses new data center grid connections

Norway has paused new grid capacity reservations for data centers while the government introduces a licensing scheme for the sector, according to the government and system operator Statnett. Projects that are already connected or already grid-approved are not affected.

Statnett expects the pause to lift no later than Aug. 1, 2027. Peer Olav Østli, Statnett's executive vice president for system operation and markets, said the pause "will apply until Statnett has developed and set the necessary technical requirements for data center facilities and these have been approved by RME," the Norwegian energy regulator.

Digitalization Minister Torgeir Micaelsen said Norway wants some data centers but not all kinds. "We want data centers in Norway, but we can’t have all types of data centers," he said, adding that the country must control growth and build centers that provide the greatest societal benefit. The new licensing scheme is expected to favour data centers serving defence, police, emergency services, health services, mobile networks and the financial system. Norway imposed a temporary ban on new proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining data centers last year, and the new plan would restrict access to land and electricity for global cloud companies and crypto businesses while supporting national AI needs.

Statnett's figures show how fast the queue has grown. About 800MW of data center capacity is connected, 4.2GW is reserved, 9.1GW is in the capacity queue and another 18GW has been requested. That represents 31.3GW of possible additional compute, although not every project would be built, compared with Norway's current peak demand of 25GW. Energy Minister Terje Aasland said Statnett has received applications to connect 26,000MW of new capacity since the start of the year, and data centers account for 75 percent of those applications.

A report from the Norwegian Technology Council last month found that foreign companies own 90 percent of the data center capacity in Norway, that the facilities provide few jobs beyond construction, and that revenue from digital services run from them rarely ends up in Norway. Tore Tennøe, the council's director, said data centers are key infrastructure but the pace of development makes it necessary to ask about scope and how to get the most from scarce resources.

Norway produces more electricity than it consumes and is a net exporter, but forecasts cited by Cyprus Mail suggest data center demand in coming years could lead to energy shortages and higher prices. New data centers must cover the costs they impose on the grid and may be asked to build gas-fired plants for their own supply, including with carbon capture and storage, the government said. Norway already hosts or has planned data centers from Microsoft, Nscale, TikTok through Green Mountain and CoreWeave.