Data center in Kalberg on Jæren may fail as Time municipality has to address case – NRK Rogaland – Local News, TV and Radio

– This requires more of us, says Green Mountain director Sven Atli Hagaseth.

It is far from giving up hope.

In early October, it became known that one of the 20 largest technology companies in the world will establish a data center in Calberg iTime. Al Jabal Al Akhdar Company, which will build the center, submitted an exemption request to the municipality.

No construction was done on the topsoil within a few hours.

– Being able to deal with such a large situation in such a short time is difficult and challenging, says Anne-Christine Jangenis, Communities Manager at TIME.

I did not receive the “complete order”

Green Mountain and the client will invest a total of NOK 50 billion. They promise at least 500 data center-related jobs.

But the schedule is about to collapse.

– We are still waiting for documents to receive the full application. Among other things, the application is not a notification to neighbors, and therefore we cannot process this application, says municipal director Jangenis.

The municipality received negative feedback from both the State Director of Rogaland, the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Signals from Rogaland District Council, which has not yet dealt with the matter definitively, are also negative.

– This is difficult and difficult. We received a lot of input, and now we have to go through it together Green mountain Ganges says and treat it in the best way possible.

A political decision from TIME may not be ready until February 20. This is the first municipal council meeting after the new year.

The mayor remains hopeful

Green Mountain Director Sven Atli Hagaseth says they are doing what they can to provide the municipality with the foundation it needs.

Meanwhile, they said the client will move in early 2025.

The construction period is ideally twelve months. But we can do things that allow us to build faster. We are looking at this now. This only requires more of us, Haggasseth says.

However, he is clear that it is a documentation requirement, not the construction process, that they are working hard on now.

The mayor of the time, Andreas Volsund (H), hopes that there will be time to wait.

– I’m still hoping we can get that client. Now it’s up to Green mountain And the client. As Mayor TIME, I can’t answer that question, Volsund says.

The mayor believes Calberg is the best solution.

– I am clear that Kalberg is included in the spatial plan as a focus area for energy-intensive industry. We have all the infrastructure ready. to be sure Green mountain If you decide to settle in another city, there will be a greater encroachment on nature, because here everything is in its right place, Volsund says.

The risks to the customer may be something else

Hagaseth says they have not seen a deadline for how far back construction will begin. The client knows about the challenges.

– He says: We have a good dialogue with them.

– It had better be done before Christmas. We couldn’t do that. Then we have to make adjustments that mean we can still maintain the delivery requirements on the customer side, explains Hagaseth.

There is a possibility that there is no data center in Kalberg with this customer now.

– There is a risk that the Green Mountain customer will have to be located elsewhere. It recognizes that the customer wants something else.

And in case you were wondering: After a lot of speculation in recent weeks, NRK of course asked Hagaseth who the agent was. He still wouldn’t say it.