The mayor of Fyresdal, a small municipality in Telemark, has criticised calls in the Norwegian parliament for a temporary halt to new data centres, NRK reports.
The Red Party has tabled an urgent proposal for a pause, backed by the Socialist Left, the Greens and the Christian Democrats. The Centre Party, which previously wanted tighter rules, now also wants a halt until next summer. Fyresdal, with about 1,270 residents, expects at least 300 jobs from a large data centre under construction, and Labour mayor Erik Skjervagen called the push "wild panic", warning the community could otherwise slowly die out.
Norway has 113 data centres, with roughly as many planned. A report from the energy regulator NVE on Thursday warned that rapid growth in data centres could leave the country short of power even in normal years.
Source: NRK
