Norwegian TSO Statnett has temporarily paused new grid capacity reservations for data centres in Norway until 1 August 2027 at the latest (Statnett press release, 09/11/2026). The suspension includes the processing of new applications for approval of facility functionality. Pending applications for plants to connect directly to the 420 kV grid are paused too.
The decision does not represent a general halt on data centre connections, since facilities with approved functional requirements can still connect, and existing connections are not affected. Applications already received for plants due for commissioning soon in the regional grid will still be processed, and the TSO will also consider some applications for smaller plants planned for connection before the halt deadline.
According to the announcement, the shutdown is a risk-reducing measure for the power system, pending the development of the necessary knowledge base required to establish future requirements. It will enable Statnett to develop a set of functional requirements for data centre plants that will have to be approved by Norway’s energy regulator RME. Eventually, the requirements should be harmonised with other Nordic TSOs and the ENTSO-E.
In Norway, 800 MW of data centres are connected, while another 4.2 GW of data centre capacity is reserved. A further 9.1 GW is in the capacity queue, and requests for a further 18 GW have been received by Statnett, while maximum power consumption in the country is just over 25 GW.
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