Cryptocurrency mining is very power-intensive. This has meant that more and more companies have chosen to establish themselves in Northern Norway due to very low electricity prices. Within a short time, both Mo i Rana and Sulitjelma have received such data centres. It also got Stokmarknes in Hadsel municipality earlier this summer. The facility is estimated to use 40 percent of the municipality’s electricity to mine cryptocurrency. But now the neighbors of the plant have sounded the alarm. They believe the noise from the plant is so troublesome that people struggle to sleep at night. This is what the data center sounds like from right next door and far away. – I especially noticed it this summer when we were going to enjoy ourselves in the garden. Then it was really troublesome. That’s what Harald Martin Eilertsen says. He lives 250 meters away from the computer facility outside Stokmarknes. – We had to close the window at night to sleep. Harald Martin Eilertsen lives close to the data center and is very critical of the noise it produces. Photo: Privat He describes the sound as a saw in a sawmill that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. – Two weeks ago I met a neighbor who walked away from his own home to escape the sound. People get mad, pissed off and distraught by this. This led to a number of neighbors sending a letter to the municipality asking that the operation of the facility be stopped. More on this a little later in the case. Requirements for noise measurements Municipal director Janne Kankaala in Hadsel says the company behind the facility, Stokmarknes Datasenter, must follow the national guidelines for noise. – There is a requirement that noise measurements be delivered, and the company has promised that this will be done during August. – The company has carried out its own measurements, and even believes that they are below the limit values. But we need an independent measurement that must be done by a third party. Community contact Carsten Lier in Stokmarknes Datasenter, says that the measurements will be carried out by the company Rambøll and will be ready at the end of August. – Internal measurements show that the noise from the data center at Myran is within the prescribed limits. The measurements vary according to wind conditions and other factors that affect the sound image, but the noise from the data center does not exceed the requirements from the authorities. – When neighbors nevertheless experience the noise as unpleasant, we have to take this seriously and try to reduce the sound even further. Immediate measures ordered Earlier in August, the municipality ordered the company to take immediate measures to reduce the noise from the plant. Mayor Aina Nilsen (Sp) says she herself has spoken to the neighbors and nearby businesses about the problem. – I fully understand that it is burdensome in their everyday life. UNDERSTAND: Aina Nilsen says she understands that it can be burdensome with a lot of noise in the neighbourhood. Photo: Benjamin Fredriksen / news – But we must bear in mind that the company has initiated immediate measures and that noise measurements will be carried out. The company is now in the process of building longer and higher noise walls around the plant. In addition, they put sound-absorbing material around the containers. – This work has started and will probably be finished during the next week. Light or heavy industry? But it is not just noise that has caused problems for the computer facility at Stokmarknes. A question of definition between light and heavy industry has become the core of a complaint that may end up with the State Administrator in Nordland. Because when the neighbors complained about the company to the municipality, they believed that the plant was so power-intensive that it should be defined as heavy industry. The site on which the data center is located is defined as light industry. The municipal director has asked both the ministry and the national security authorities for advice to get closer to a definition. Municipal director Janne Kankaala. Photo: Hadsel municipality – But they had no clear definition. So the state could not give us the answer to how we should interpret the data centre. When the complaint from the neighbors was dealt with in the chairmanship, a unanimous decision was made that the operation should still be considered heavy industry. – We have been clear in our justification that we define it as heavy industry because of the electricity used, says mayor Nilsen. – Energy policy dilemma But she admits that the question has caused a lot of headaches. – We have been keen to record this problem to the ministries and to the Energy Commission – because this is an energy policy dilemma. – What should we use our power for? And especially in the north, where within five years we will not have a power surplus. If we get more data centres, it will disappear faster. This has to be decided politically. According to the company, the crypto center must have measurements that do not exceed what is legal. Photo: Privat Stokmarknes Datasenter disagrees with this interpretation, and has complained about the decision. This complaint will be dealt with again in the chairmanship on 1 September. – The chairmanship of Hadsel municipality has tried to turn this into a question of light or heavy industry in Myran. In reality, it is about yes or no to a data center in the municipality. Politicians say no to a legal business they don’t like for various reasons, says Lier. He believes the decision limits the right to establish in Norway, and contravenes the EEA agreement. Until the case is settled and the noise measurements are delivered to the municipality, the plant continues to mine cryptocurrency at full capacity. Neighbor Eilertsen is in any case clear that the operation should be stopped. – We neighbors will follow this matter further. We expect the municipality to put an end to this operation.
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Neighbors react to noise from crypto facilities in Hadsel – news Nordland
