Green Mountain is planning a large new data center campus in Norway.
The site is at Kalberg, an area approximately 20 km from Stavanger in south-west Norway.
Announced this week, Green Mountain said it has received a request from a ‘large international client’ who wants to establish itself near the new Fagrafjell transformer station.
The technology client has requested the first construction phase to be completed by January 2025 at the latest, while the final construction phase must be completed in 2027. Construction time for the first building is estimated to be 12 months.
However, this is dependent on Green Mountain being granted the building permit for the first building in the project. The company has submitted a building application and hopes to complete the application process by the end of November.
When fully developed, the data center campus will consist of up to eight data halls and see more than NOK 50 billion ($4.61 billion) invested.
Green Mountain CEO, Svein Atle Hagaseth, said: “This project will create substantial positive ripple effects in terms of value creation, new jobs, competence development and more. Our ambition is to build this facility with the lowest possible environmental footprint and to the highest standards of sustainability. All in line with our company vision.”
Green Mountain will also prepare the infrastructure for other companies to utilize the waste heat from the data center.
“We are in close dialogue with several companies on potential heat reuse projects. Food production in greenhouses, land-based fish farming, district heating and drying facilities are all among the options we explore,” said Hagaseth.
Green Mountain was founded in 2009. Israeli real estate firm Azrieli Group acquired Green Mountain from Norwegian real estate firm Smedvig for $850 million in 2021.
It operates three sites across Norway in Oslo, Rjukan, and Rennesøy. Further campuses are planned in Gismarvik, Undheim, and Hønefoss. The company has signed a 90MW hosting deal with TikTok at its OSL2-Hamar site in Hønefoss and a 10MW deal with a cloud provider in Oslo.
While the company primarily operates in Norway, it last year acquired a data center outside London in Romford and recently announced plans for a new campus outside Frankfurt in Germany.
The Mayor of Time municipality, Andreas Vollsund, said: “Given that the majority in the municipal council is in favor of the project, this will contribute significantly in our efforts to build new green industry in the region. Some people have raised their concerns about the number of jobs created by data centers. With Green Mountain’s plans, this establishment will undoubtedly become the largest workplace in Time municipality in the coming years.”
In 2020, Green Mountain said its 22-hectare (54-acre) plot in Kalberg offered immediate access to 3MW of power and 10MW in 12 months. The plot is around 225,000 sq m (2.4m sq ft) with a possible extension of 25,000 sq m (250,000 sq ft). The transformer will reportedly offer up to 300MW.
