Green Mountain will build the country’s largest data center at Kalberg in Time municipality. Together with an unknown technology company, they will invest 50 billion, and promise 500 man-years. The power consumption of the data center will probably be 1.7 to 1.8 terawatt hours a year. General manager Svein Atle Hagaseth in Green Mountain claimed during an interview with Stavanger Aftenblad that the centre’s consumption will not lead to increased electricity prices (external link). – It will not affect the price of electricity at all, Hagaseth said, referring to a survey carried out by Green Mountain and a consulting company. Green Mountain needs speed in the process, stated the managing director during the press conference. Illustration: Green Mountain But when news contacts Green Mountain, they reply that it was not a “survey”, but a note from the consulting firm Æge. And when we ask if this note is the survey Hagaseth referred to, they do not want to confirm that it was the right document. There is nothing in the note about how the data center will affect electricity prices. – Perhaps should have been more precise But according to general manager Hagaseth, they have the documentation needed, and refers to information Green Mountain has received from Æge and from the energy company Lyse. – It shows that it will have little effect on the electricity price. Electricity prices are not our area of expertise. Electricity prices are a complex topic, so it is crucial that we consult with people in the field, he says to news. – But the documentation you have sent us from Æge, and which you referred to during the interview, says nothing about how the data center will affect electricity prices? – Perhaps we should have been more precise, and told about several investigations that have been carried out. I should have come up with a longer list and could probably mention ten surveys. – Can you send us the other investigations that have been done? – We have not done any more investigations than the one with Æge and Lyse, replies Hagaseth. May increase electricity prices Atle Simonsen, communications manager for energy at Lyse, tells news that the electricity price is determined by a number of factors. He says that any increase in consumption can have an impact on the price of electricity. – The price of electricity is determined by a number of factors and any increase in consumption can potentially have an impact on the price of electricity, it depends, among other things, on whether we also get increased production, he says. – It is important to remember that the power region South is an area with a lot of production and is a surplus area for power. This means that our region is one of the areas that will withstand new consumption best, and it is also planned that our region will receive a significant amount of power from offshore wind in the coming decades, says Simonsen. Simonsen explains that Norway has a weather-based power system with variation in the inflow of water of approximately 24 TWh and at most up to 60 TWh. – This means that the weather will mean more to the electricity price than any increased consumption of 1.7-1.8 TWh as outlined here. Why Kalberg? Kalberg is considered a very favorable location for power-intensive industry. Statnett is building a large transformer station at Fagrafjell, which is also located in Time municipality. Thus, nearby plots of land on Kalberg become the place in Norway with the best security of supply. Data centers also produce waste heat. Supporters of the development hope that Kalberg can become a circular industrial area, where agricultural industries such as biogas plants, greenhouses and farming can benefit from the surplus heat from the computers. Will increase demand According to Jonas Alexandersson in Æge, who wrote the note, the price of electricity may rise if the data center comes into place. He is a co-founder of Æge Group AS, and general manager of Æge Energy AS, which is the consultancy that produced the survey. Alexandersson tells news that the data center will lead to an increased demand for electricity, and may thus lead to increased electricity prices. Jonas Alexandersson from Æge Energy was the man who wrote the survey. He states that increased demand for electricity can lead to increased electricity prices. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news He says that the survey or “note” should show the connection with the rest of the electricity picture in Norway. Do not show how the data center would affect the price of electricity. – The note does not say that electricity prices will definitely increase or that they will decrease. The note is about putting the data center’s consumption into perspective, e.g. by comparing it with power exports from NO2, says Alexandersson. – Will lead to higher prices Fabian Rønningen is an analyst at Rystad Energy. He believes the electricity price will increase when the data center is up and running. – Anything that increases our consumption of electricity will lead to higher prices. Norway basically has more electricity than we need, and exports between 10 and 20 terawatt hours (TWh) in a normal year. If consumption increases, without us producing more electricity, exports will become less available. Then you can set the prices. It is therefore about supply and demand. Green Mountain needs speed in the process, stated the managing director during the press conference. Illustration: Green Mountain 1.8 TWh corresponds to the electricity consumption of 129,000 average households. Rønningen believes that Norway must produce more electricity if prices are not to rise as a result of the establishment of the data centre. Green Mountain’s plans to give the waste heat from the center to the agricultural industry will lead to somewhat less consumption. But not nearly enough for consumption to go to zero and thus not affect electricity prices, explains Rønningen. Last year, Norway used approximately 133 TWh in total. This means that 1.8 TWh will effectively increase consumption in Norway by approximately 1.5 per cent.
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Thinks the electricity price will increase as a result of the data center at Jæren – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
