Norway suspends data center power reservations until Aug. 1, 2027
World
Norway is suspending further reservation of electricity connections for data centers no later than Aug. 1, 2027.
The country wants to make sure its electricity supply can keep up, especially as tech and AI companies are asking for more and more energy.
Statnett, the system operator, says this move is all about protecting resources while demand skyrockets.
Norway plans data center licensing
Right now, Norwegian data centers use about 800 megawatts, but requests have poured in for over 31,000 megawatts.
Norway says 90% of data centers are owned by foreign companies and plans to roll out a licensing system based on the approaches taken by Finland and Denmark that gives priority to data centers providing real benefits to society, not just big tech expansion.