The US-Norwegian company Kolos says it aims to build a record-sized data centre in Ballangen in Norway, which is located inside the Arctic Circle, according to an article on the BBC website. Kolos says the chilled air and abundant hydropower available locally would help it keep its energy costs down. Kolos says it has already raised several million dollars for the project from Norwegian private investors and us working with a US investment bank to secure the remaining necessary funds.
An article on Norwegian broadcaster NRK’s website says US architectural firm HDR Inc will build the data centre. The BBC said Kolos' base would draw on about 70 megawatts of power initially, but within a decade, it intends to have added enough computer server modules to draw on more than 1,000 MW. The Ballangen development would cover 600,000 square metres over four storeys.
It would benefit from the large amounts of fibre optic cable laid in the past alongside a railway built to transport mined iron ore to Sweden. The centre could employ some of the 200 technology students that the nearby university produces every year, Kolos’ co-chief executive Mark Robinson told the BBC.
