{
  "id": 2101176,
  "title": "Kontrollutvalg skal undersøke datasenter-avtale",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/kontrollutvalg-skal-unders-ke-datasenter-avtale",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-20T08:29:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "E24 Norway",
    "slug": "e24-norway",
    "url": "https://e24.no/energi-og-klima/i/QJaayA/kontrollutvalg-skal-undersoeke-datasenter-avtale"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fyresdal kommune in Telemark has commissioned a management audit of the community-owned companies. The audit will examine ownership, capability and ethics. The audit was ordered after the Fyresdal commune sold an industrial area to the local property companies Myldr Estate 1 and 2 in May last year. By the end of the year, the companies were sold to Horten company Norsk Data AS as intermediary, and then sold again to data center company Egdeconnex. E24 has written several articles on how Norsk Data could have earned over two hundred million kroner on the deal - more than double what the commune is left with. In Fyresdal, Egdeconnex is now building what is planned to be one of Norway's largest data centers. In a small commune, it is easy to blur roles and there are many people sitting in the various companies. We wonder how this is with capability, and we will look closer at whether everything was done correctly, says Marini van Terheijden, leader of the Fyresdal commune control board, to E24. Erik Skjervagen (Ap) is chairman of Fyresdal commune and also managing director of Fyresdal Growth and Myldr Energy Park. He tells E24 that such an audit is common practice, and stresses that both the commune administration and the board \"are familiar with these structures\". - As I am managing director, approved by the political bodies, says Skjervagen. - It's fine - we get it out of the world. I am very happy that everything has gone well, so I am very happy about this, he says. As E24 has previously written, the Egdeconnex account shows that the company spent 407 million kroner to secure the two local companies Myldr Estate 1 and 2, which formally bought from the municipality - Norsk Data. E24 has calculated that Norsk Data is left with more than 200 million kroner. At the same time, the commune recorded a profit of 110 million kroner after selling the estate companies. Van Terheijden of the control board says the audit was ordered before E24's articles on the transactions that the estate companies changed hands. The control board wants to go through the whole process, from the decision that the commune should focus on a data center, to how the deal was made and the estate sale was completed, the audit leader explains. She excludes that the price and what the commune got for the land will be part of such a review. - We will go through the whole process to see if we can learn from it, says van Terheijden. - It is a lot of money that has been wasted. The commune only got a quarter of the final sum, which is perhaps a shame, but it is not always easy for a small commune to find the right contacts to carry out such a large project, she continues. As important as money is what may come later in the form of jobs and influx to the commune, stresses van Terheijden. She emphasizes that this is her personal opinion. Olav Veum is the daily manager of the commune company Myldr. Erik Skjervagen (Ap) is chairman of Fyresdal commune and also managing director of Fyresdal Growth and Myldr Energy Park, which sold the companies owning the data center land. In the \"Handbook for chairmen\", KS writes: \"As chairman, you should be very careful about taking on managerial duties in companies\". KS refers here to commune-owned companies. - The role as managing director of Myldr fits very well with being chairman of Fyresdal, says Skjervagen. Both from me and the commune administration, he says. For management audit, prepared by Vetaks (Vestfold, Telemark and Agders control board secretariat), is expected to be completed in January next year. The work is already underway. Many in the population of Fyresdal have been critical of what has been described as secrecy around the process, who the actor should establish in Fyresdal and not least the transactions and money that have changed hands. This too will be part of the control board's review. - With private actors in the picture, it can become secrecy. We will also see whether there could have been greater openness, says van Terheijden. The chairman stresses that they have discussed several times in the commune administration that certain information is excluded from public access. The chairman stresses that they have discussed several times in the commune administration that certain information is excluded from public access.",
  "summary": "Telemarks-kommune satt igjen med 110 millioner kroner etter at datasentergigant brukte det…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}