– We think it is madness to arrange for large power take-offs when other types of industry and establishments could have gone ahead which create far greater ripple effects than this project gives, says BRUS CEO Elnar Remi Homen. Tordentalen comes as a result of the company Northern DC wanting to establish a data center in the power municipality Sørfold in Nordland. Data centers can be used for many purposes, from creating music and photos in the “cloud” to mining cryptocurrency. To do that, two things must be in place: A plot of land that is regulated for industrial purposes Allocated power from local grid company / Statnett Recently, the company was allocated electricity by Statnett and the local grid company Kystnett: 50 MW power. It is happening at the same time that companies in Nordland are queuing up to be allocated electricity. Therefore, Holmen believes that the power should have gone to projects that generate more jobs than the data center is estimated to do. The company itself has estimated that it will be able to employ 30 people. Elnar Remi Holmen is head of the Bodø region’s development company (BRUS). Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – Just north of this area, Aker wants to establish several hundred jobs, which they cannot do because of a lack of power. To the south of this region there is a green steel mill that could be powered. In addition, Holmen mentions the aquaculture industry, which could have generated “several hundred jobs” and generate “enormous income for the municipality”. – We believe that Statnett and Kystnett should prioritize this power for other projects in the region that are mature and ready to create jobs and ripple effects, Holmen continues. news has tried to get in touch with the owners of the aforementioned data centre, but has been unsuccessful. 70 percent do not get power On Friday, NHO and LO organized a power conference in Bodø. There, the message was crystal clear: More power must be developed in Northern Norway. The reason is the enormous demand for electricity. This is particularly evident in the number of inquiries to Statnett about being allowed to connect to the electricity grid. According to a new report from the consulting company Thema, only 30 percent of those who want access to the network actually get reserved capacity. That figure is probably even higher, as there are several projects that have not reported their needs to NVE and Statnett. The figures worry NHO director Ole Erik Almlid. – These are alarming figures, because we know very well that power is necessary to ensure low electricity prices and jobs. He fears that the demand for power is so great that if more power is not added, many industrial projects will miss out for Northern Norway. NHO director Ole Erik Almlid is concerned that only 30 percent of the projects that request electricity from Statnett get it. As a result, important industrial establishments may slip out of the region, he believes. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news – Is it that easy to just accelerate power development in the north? – No, and we have to take into account that there are many attitudes and many different opinions. Many are afraid of getting into a conflict. That is why NHO and LO go around to talk to many people and see how we can make this happen without conflict. But we need power to get industrial travel going forward, and especially in Nordland. LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik tells news that there is also a need for data centers in Norway that store data – but she has little left over for cryptocurrency mining. – We in LO are clear that we do not think we should use our electricity for that. LO leader Peggy Hessen Følsvik during a power conference in Bodø, organized by LO and NHO. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news Mayor: A desired business Gisle Hansen (Sp) is mayor of Sørfold municipality. Here, the local council must in practice give the project a thumbs up or thumbs down when they have to decide to regulate the plot that the company wants for industrial purposes. Hansen is positive about the establishment. Gisle Hansen (Sp) is mayor of Sørfold. He welcomes the plans for a data center in the municipality. Photo: Lars-Bjørn Martinsen / news – In some places these centers must also be located. I am not a fan of data storage in countries like the USA, Mexico, Brazil and similar places. He points out that there is a national guidance from the government and the security authorities that some data should be stored within Norway’s borders. – Now there is a data center knocking on the door, and it is a legal business. The network company: – Can’t refuse customers It is through the network company Kystkraft that the data center has been allocated power. Managing director Klaus Henrik Hvassing says that they cannot say no to companies that want to connect to the electricity grid, as long as it is operationally sound. – A grid company has a duty to connect, both for withdrawals and feeding into the electricity grid. This means that we cannot refuse a small power plant to supply power to the grid, or refuse a customer power if it is otherwise operationally sound. There, the energy law is simple and straight forward. Many companies are queuing up to connect to the power grid in Northern Norway. Here is the new 420 kv line from Balsfjord to Skaidi Photo: Allan Klo Nevertheless, there are some criteria that the grid company must consider. Projects that are highly likely to come to fruition. When they need electricity and how much electricity is to be used. If two projects are assessed equally with regard to implementation ability and progress, priority must be given to existing operations. In addition, all requests over 1 MW must be cleared with Statnett. The project in Sørfold has been allocated 50 MW. Statnett: – Considered mature enough – All network companies must treat all inquiries about network capacity objectively and industry-neutral. We are not able to distinguish between the type of consumption or production, writes Statnett in an email. They have been submitted to the criticism from Holmen. All requests for power over 1 MW must be cleared with Statnett to ensure that there is enough capacity on the power grid. Here is the company’s head office in Nydalen in Oslo. Photo: Statnett – Network capacity has become a limited good as a result of companies all over the country wanting to electrify or establish new industry. In order to ensure that the projects with the highest probability of being realized are connected, we have introduced maturity criteria. – Reservation of this capacity has been given to Kystnett after they have assessed Northern DC as sufficiently mature for reservation. Minister: Must prioritize existing operations Earlier this spring, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) opened up to look at which guidelines applied when it comes to the allocation of electricity. One month later, the criteria were clear. Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) participated in the Energy Conference in Bodø earlier this spring. Photo: Bente H. Johansen / news He rejects that it is first-come, first-served that applies when applying for electricity. – It is not correct. Firstly, you have to show that you are a mature project, that you want to invest and that you want to put the power to use, he says and adds: – Then we have said that with such criteria, it is existing business that should be prioritized. Aasland says that the criteria have been clearly communicated to the network companies and Statnett, and that the government is keen to follow them up.
ttn-69
Rage against the fact that the data center has been allocated power in Sørfold – news Nordland
