Norway reins in data centre industry amid AI boom

Norway's government said on Monday it will curb the rapid growth of power-hungry data centres in the Nordic country, becoming the latest nation to limit a buildout driven by the global artificial intelligence industry. Norwegian national grid operator Statnett on Monday temporarily halted reservations of connections for new data centres until a government licensing scheme is in place to manage the buildout. Energy Minister Terje Aasland said Statnett had received connection applications for 26,000 megawatts of new capacity so far this year, more than Norway's current capacity, with data centres accounting for 75% of requests.

"The purpose is to gain more control over the growth of data centres, and ensure that we get the data centres we actually need," Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance Torgeir Micaelsen told a press conference. The licensing scheme will favour data centres that serve defence, police and emergency preparedness, health services and other critical infrastructure such as the mobile network and the financial system, Micaelsen said. While Norway wants to support the national need for artificial intelligence, it will restrict the access to land and electricity for global cloud companies or cryptocurrency firms, he added.

Norway produces more power than it consumes and is a net exporter, but recent projections show that demand from new data centres could lead to an energy deficit and rising electricity prices in the coming years. New data centres should pay for costs incurred by the grid, and may be asked to build gas-fired power plants, including carbon capture and storage, to provide their own electricity, the government said. The rapid growth of data centres is meeting resistance in many countries, as seen in the recent US midterm election, with critics saying that the industry provides few jobs and pushes up power prices.