Last week, members of the GreenScale team visited Tonstad. For us, these visits are an opportunity to spend time in the community to listen, learn, and understand what matters most.
At GreenScale, we have twelve sustainability commitments, the second of which is to understand the needs of local communities and how our developments can contribute in a meaningful and positive way. By engaging early and responding to local priorities, we aim to ensure our data centre campuses deliver positive social impact, support employment, and create long-term value.
During a recent visit to Tonstad, the team brought this commitment to life through a series of local engagements. A highlight was visiting Tonstad Skule’s Careers Day, organised by 10th-grade students as part of their career studies programme. Alongside GreenScale, the event featured a range of companies, including Fjellparken, Sira Kvina, Risa, SVB, Tonstad Bakeri, Kvinesdal Sparebank, and Modalsli Rør, offering students valuable insight into future career paths. The GreenScale team was really impressed by the students, whose professionalism, organisation, and confidence stood out throughout the day. With the data centre industry continuing to facing a growing skills gap, initiatives like these play an important role in supporting early careers, building awareness of the sector, and inspiring the next generation to consider future opportunities in the industry.
We also hosted an informal information session at Tonstad Bakeri, creating an open and welcoming space for residents to ask questions about the development and the opportunities it may bring. Conversations were thoughtful and wide-ranging, but a few key themes came through clearly.
One of the main priorities we heard was around jobs. Many residents spoke about the importance of creating more local opportunities and ensuring Tonstad remains an attractive place for families to live. That connection is an important one. Stable, long-term employment does not just benefit individuals, it supports households, schools, and local businesses. With our Tonstad Campus expected to directly support more than 250 roles once operational, these opportunities have the potential to attract people, partners, and families to the area, contributing to the long-term vitality of the region.
Another common question we were asked was: why Tonstad? The answer lies in the region’s unique strengths. Access to abundant hydropower provides a clean energy source, while the naturally cool climate supports efficient cooling. Strong grid infrastructure, including nearby substations, enables delivery at scale. Taken together, these factors make Tonstad a location where we can build responsibly and deliver meaningful environmental and economic impact.
In total, GreenScale’s development of the Tonstad Campus represents one of the largest planned investments in the region, with a total project investment exceeding NOK 30 billion (€2.5 billion). But for us, the long-term success of the project will be measured not only by the infrastructure we build, but by the relationships we develop along the way. By continuing to engage openly with local residents, support local priorities, and create opportunities that extend beyond construction, we aim to ensure the Tonstad Campus delivers lasting value for the community for years to come.
Want to learn more about the opportunities our development will create?
Read the independent report by Samfunnsøkonomisk Analyse.
The next generation of sustainable data centres
Data centres are the foundations on which modern life runs, supporting everything from banking and transport to public administration, cloud services and AI. As our reliance on the cloud and AI grows, so too does the need for the infrastructure that supports them. But we also recognise the impact data centres can have on the environment and the communities around them. Our purpose is to provide the digital capacity society needs while addressing those impacts from day one.
As our 12 sustainability commitments show, we are putting this into practice by investing in sustainable technologies, listening to local communities, and making long-term investments in the areas where we operate.
Site selection is one of the most important considerations for sustainability, which is why we chose Sirdal as the location for one of our flagship developments. In Tonstad, we have found a location that combines abundant renewable hydropower, resilient grid infrastructure, suitable land, strong connectivity and a naturally cool climate, all the qualities needed for the next generation of sustainable data centres. Just as importantly, we found a community where our presence can make a positive difference, bringing long-term investment into the region, creating new business opportunities and helping more young people build careers locally.
We are proud of the experience GreenScale is built on, but we know that experience alone is not enough. Trust in Tonstad will be built through the choices we make, the infrastructure we deliver and, most importantly, the positive and lasting impact we have in the local community.
As we approach our second anniversary, we look forward to continuing to bring our vision for sustainable digital infrastructure to life. In Tonstad, that means building a data centre that sets a higher standard for how digital infrastructure uses resources responsibly, works with its neighbours and contributes to the local economy.
Socio-economic analysis
Independent assessment of Tonstad DataPark
We are pleased to share this independent socio-economic analysis of Tonstad DataPark, conducted by Samfunnsøkonomisk Analyse (SØA). The analysis highlights the significance of the data centre development for value creation, employment, and long-term societal development in Sirdal, the wider region, and across Norway.
Download report