Aker Nscale Planning Another AI Data Center in Northern Norway

From Aker Nscale and OpenAI's initiative, Stargate Norway, at Kvandal outside of Narvik, Northern Norway. Earlier this month, it was also revealed that Aker ASA had finalized its investment in the tech company Nscale and established the new company Aker Nscale. The company will be headquartered at Fornebu, outside Oslo, with operational teams in Narvik. (Screenshot from the Stargate Norway announcement video)
Aker Nscale plans to build a data center for artificial intelligence in the small town of Korgen in Nordland, Northern Norway. The construction plans could be as extensive as the company's project in Narvik, reports newspaper Rana Blad.
Aker Nscale has large-scale plans to build a data center for artificial intelligence in the small town of Korgen, a 3,5 hour drive south of Bodø, Northern Norway.
This was first reported by Rana Blad.
Nils Lysø at Aker tells the newspaper that the plan is to build as large a data center in Korgen as they are now going to build with regards to the planned advanced AI infrastructure project in Narvik further north.
As is widely reported, Aker and Nscale, together with OpenAI, is already investing heavily in an AI Gigafactory at Kvandal outside Narvik under the name Stargate Norway. In mid-September, an agreement worth approximately NOK 60 billion was entered into with Microsoft in connection with this establishment.
Furthermore, Aker also recently finalizes its investment in Nscale and Joint Venture in Narvik, creating the new company Aker Nscale.
Power challenges and zoning plan
According to Rana Blad, Aker Nscale has bought out power company Nordkraft and assumed all agreements with the landowner in a designated area in Korgen, which is located in Hemnes municipality.
With regards to the land in question, Hemnes municipality states on its website that Nordkraft previously (since 2019) had an option on a plot right next to state-owned hydropower company Statkraft's facility in the area.
The desired plot has furthermore been set aside for commercial use in Hemnes municipality's new proposed plan for land use, reports Rana Blad.
However, both the processing of the zoning plan for the project and access to power remain.
"Since there were delays in our zoning plan, we chose to postpone the process of applying to Statnett for an allocation of power in the grid. We are now waiting in line," says Lysø in Aker to Rana Blad.
Statnett is the system operator of the Norwegian power system.
When asked how much power will be used, Lysø estimates that the planned data center in the area they have under regulation in Korgen will use a grid capacity of 250 MW. This corresponds to slightly more than the average annual production at the Nedre Røssåga power station, where the data center may be located.