Norway has ambitious data center goals

“The Government is now strengthening its commitment to a sustainable data center industry. This will create many new jobs in the regions and help develop new digital services throughout the country," she says. 

The Norwegian Government has just presented an updated data centre strategy entitled "Norwegian data centres – sustainable, digital power centres". The strategy, which launches a number of measures to contribute to sustainable growth and job creation in Norway, is part of the Government's commitment to digitalisation and the data-driven economy.

"Data centers are important building blocks of our digital infrastructure. Without the data center industry, important areas of society within the health, energy and transport sectors would stop functioning. During the pandemic, the need for computing power has been enormous. Norway has an important role to play in further developing this industry," says Helleland.

Data centers in Greater Bergen

In Greater Bergen, there are ready zoned sites for data centers. The Børdalen data center site, developed by REGN Datacenters, is one example.

GreenByte by Invest in Bergen has also been a facilitator in the development of data center sites in Greater Bergen. In particular, the project in Masfjorden municipality is close to realization.

“We have come far in developing this site and really hope we can launch a data center in Greater Bergen later this year or early next year. We are facilitating an all-green, diesel generator-free solution as a power backup. It’s the first time ever this has been developed. This will be a new way of using Norwegian hydropower in data centers” says Vidar Totland from Invest in Bergen.

“We are also working with Modalen municipality and are looking into the possibilities of facilitating the development of data centers there. We are doing this in close cooperation with Modalen municipality and the hydropower company in the municipality,” he says.

Read more about data center sites in Greater Bergen here

Growing industry in Norway

In recent years the Norwegian data center industry has grown significantly. The industry already contributes to approximately 2,000 jobs, which could grow to more than 11,000 jobs in 2025, according to a recent white paper.

"The white paper shows that Norway has ideal conditions for job creation and activity in local communities where data centres are established. This strategy will contribute to further growth and business development," says Helleland.

In the years 2019 and 2020, 2.7 billion NOK was invested and 18 new data centres established in Norway. In the past year, several new locations have been established. German AQ Compute is building a 5,000 square meter facility in Ringerike municipality.

“Norway makes an ideal location for green and efficient data centres, thanks to a cold climate, 98% electricity supply from renewable sources, the most competitive electricity prices within Europe as well as proactive support from the Norwegian government for the data centre segment,” says Carl von Hessen of AQ Compute.

Helleland believes that it is essential that Norway succeed in facilitating sustainable business development throughout the country, which will contribute to more future-oriented jobs.

"We must use Norwegian power resources to develop new green industries in rural areas and attract international investment. Norway have very good prerequisites for increasing our market share within a large international industry," says Helleland.

In the new data centre strategy, the Government presents measures to contribute to increased growth in the data centre industry while at the same time facilitating sustainable development.

The Government will:

• Strengthen the promotion of Norway as a data center nation, through channels such as Invest in Norway which works to facilitate investment in data-driven value creation and data centers in Norway.
• Make it easier to establish data centers in Norway by publishing a guide in English for foreign actors.
• Facilitate sustainable development of the data center industry in Norway – among other things, by requiring data centers to investigate how the surplus heat (waste heat) can be utilized.
• Create a heat map in order to ensure better resource utilisation of waste heat from data centers. The map and the data will make it easier to utilise surplus heat for other purposes.
• Investigate how processes related to the development and licensing of connections to the transmission grid can be streamlined. The Government has appointed a public committee to consider this, among other things.
• Facilitate in order for the companies in the data center industry to enter into cooperation agreements with educational institutions.
   

Download guide: How to establish a data center in Norway

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