– NVE svarer bare «bla bla bla»

In Fyresdal, Edgeconnex, an American data center giant, is constructing one of the largest data centers in the country. The company has applied for a total of 365 megawatts of electricity from the power grid, which is equivalent to half of Bergen's electricity demand on the hottest day of the year. However, to provide electricity to the data center, Edgeconnex must build a new, large transformer substation and overhead power lines.

The work cannot begin until the necessary permissions are in place. Fyresdal's mayor, Erik Skjervagen (Ap), has sent a letter of concern to Energy Minister Terje Aasland about his perception of slow progress on the matter. "We are not satisfied with the handling time of NVE. It is extremely slow," Skjervagen told E24. The application for the electricity connection license was submitted on December 5, 2025, and nearly a year later, no progress has been made.

Skjervagen says NVE's responses are only "bla bla bla", consisting of evasive answers. "Delays will occur. The transformer substation cannot be built until the license is granted, otherwise the data center cannot receive electricity," he said. In a letter to the state governor, Skjervagen requests the state governor to look more closely into how the case can receive "necessary progress."

"It is a large investment in Fyresdal, and the planning of many actors is dependent on predictable progress in the development of the data center," Skjervagen wrote in the letter, which E24 obtained a copy of. On Friday, October 9, Skjervagen received a response from the Ministry of Energy. Among other things, the department acknowledged the importance of handling the case quickly and stated that accelerating handling is a top priority.

Inga Nordberg, director of energy and licensing at NVE, told E24 that it "is not correct that they are not working on the case." "We do a lot of handling before cases are assigned a dedicated case manager," Nordberg said. According to Nordberg, the application from Edgeconnex in December was incomplete. After a dialogue with NVE, they received a complete application in February.

Meanwhile, the construction of the transformer substation is dependent on the company Lede, which is also responsible for building 10 kilometers of high-voltage lines. The data center project is not at the top of the government's priority list. Supply security and connection to new power production are given higher priority. "I do not think the 'evasive answers' he received are what he got," Nordberg said.

October will see the applications sent for hearing, according to Nordberg. "Has the letter to the energy minister led to progress in the process?" "No. We treat this like any other case of the same character. We have only informed the department about the progress of the case," she said. Data centers account for 60% of all power demand in Statnett's power queue.

The data center actors want the entire 8,820 megawatts. "Data centers are asking for a lot of network capacity. That's why planning the connection must start very early in such projects," Nordberg said.