Frequently asked questions

GreenScale is a British company headquartered in London.

GreenScale is wholly owned by German investment company DTCP.

We will pay corporate tax in Norway and property tax to the municipality, both in line with national and regional regulations.

GreenScale does not yet have operational data centres. Founded in 2024 to build data centres differently, we currently have two campuses in development. While the company is new, the experience behind it isn’t. GreenScale was founded with DTCP, drawing on its established track record of building and scaling data centre platforms across Europe. Over the last 30 years, our management team has collectively acquired, built and operated more than 3GW of data centres across Europe. Our sister company, maincubes, which is also backed by DTCP, brings more than a decade of direct in-house experience. Together, this expertise provides GreenScale with the experience and track record to successfully deliver and operate large-scale data centre developments.

Yes, GreenScale will have in-region, Norwegian management for both the construction and operational phases of the project.

We are meeting representatives from labour organisations and are aware of Norway’s emphasis on dialogue and involvement from employee organisations, and we will follow this model.

Our data centre in Tonstad will serve a small number of large, reputable technology operators, typically hyperscalers, major cloud providers or next-generation “neo cloud” compute platforms. These companies deliver essential digital services such as search, cloud storage, communication and artificial intelligence, and undergo strict due diligence to ensure full compliance with Norwegian regulations and our internal ethical standards. The facility will not support inappropriate or harmful content, nor will we host crypto-mining activities.

We are committed to a sustainable development, which includes making sure that the data centre will not be used for any kind of crypto mining activities.

Once operational, the campus will support approximately 250 full-time equivalents, with GreenScale becoming the largest private-sector employer in Sirdal. Learn more.

That’s our goal. Our work with this project will include local hiring goals, apprenticeships, on the job training, professional development, working closely with schools and vocational partners. KPIs (e.g., % local procurement, traineeships, annual community investment) will be tracked and reported. There may be a requirement to hire specialist skill sets and experience, but this will be viewed on a case-by-case basis, and we will use effective succession planning to upskill local teams.

For us to succeed with our project we need people with a wide variety of skill sets and education, ranging from university graduates to engineers and economists to security personnel, cleaning and business administration. We have started dialogue with local schools, universities, and technical colleges on this.

Jobs will include engineers, technicians, maintenance staff, security, cleaning, management, and administration.

We will partner with the county and local academic institutions to launch apprenticeship-programmes.

The construction phase will support 2,000+ full-time equivalents through direct and indirect employment.

View the project timeline.

In line with the planned development of the data centre campus, we commenced tree felling in early February 2026, meeting all required legislation at municipality, regional and state levels. The purpose of the work carried out was site clearance.

Different permits are required at different stages of the project. All the required permits up to the current stage are in place.

The project spans approximately 3-5 years during the construction phase, after which the data centre is expected to remain operational for at least 30 years. GreenScale facilities are designed with longevity, adaptability, and sustainability in mind ensuring systems and components can evolve over time without negatively impacting performance or the environment.

In building and operating the data centre, we and our employees will depend on many others who supply goods and services. This is estimated to amount to 2000+ jobs during the construction phase, and in the operational phase approximately 600+ jobs (through direct, indirect and ripple effects).

We will prioritise local and regional suppliers wherever possible. However, for certain aspects of the project, we will also have to use suppliers from outside Norway.

We have already established dialogue and will collaborate with regional business associations, the confederation of Norwegian enteprises (NHO), Invest in Agder, University of Agder (UiA), and others. We will continue to be accessible and proactively seek contact with relevant suppliers.

Our robust supplier onboarding process will ensure that all suppliers comply with Norwegian labour laws and agreements.

Contact [email protected]. In due course, small companies will also have the opportunity to engage with us and our appointed contractors via a dedicated supplier portal.

Our generators will not use diesel. They will run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), which is demonstrated to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, as well as particulate matter by up to 27%. We envision that each generator will be tested on average up to 20 mins per month, over a typical year. Testing will be conducted during normal working hours (on weekdays).

We will require enough generators to provide 300MW of power in the highly unlikely event of significant utility power loss at Ertsmyra. This could be 20x15MW generators or 150x2MW generators depending on the final customer design. However, it is important to understand that data centres are designed and built as highly resilient facilities.

The electrical infrastructure incorporates multiple layers of redundancy such that the failure of an individual component would not normally require generators to start. Backup generators are intended for the comparatively small number of scenarios involving a significant and sustained loss of utility power.

We will of course adhere to the strict regulations on noise and environmental standards. As with any construction project, we are obliged to implement measures to ensure noise level are maintained at acceptable levels. During operations we will abide by the relevant limits in T-1442 guidelines. This means that noise levels outside the closest residential property will be lower than 40dB during normal operations and 50 dB when generators are being tested.

 Some data centres use evaporative cooling systems, where water is drawn from local sources and used to dissipate heat. While this can be effective, it can also result in significant water consumption. That is why we have made a commitment not to use evaporative cooling in our data centres. Our standard design uses closed-loop cooling systems, where water is recirculated rather than consumed.

The data centre buildings will not be visible from Tonstad; from Josdal they will be visible, but visibility will be screened wherever possible using landscaping.

The final building height is not yet fixed. However, we have listened to community feedback and have successfully reduced the proposed height compared with the early designs. We will continue to refine the data centre campus and building design in line with the approved zoning plan, incorporate community feedback where possible, and update this page accordingly.

We have commissioned several environmental studies, including a vegetation survey and bird survey. These have been conducted by independent, expert environmental consultants. The bird studies have been conducted using acoustic recoding units and these have been undertaken during peak breeding season as well as peak period for eagle-owl territorial vocalisation.

The assessment concluded that, while the planning area is part of the functional habitat for a range of bird species, no eagle owls were detected.

The vegetation study assessed the impact potential for valuable terrestrial habitat types and species. No occurrences of red-listed tree species were recorded within the project area, nor were any potentially valuable habitat types documented.

During construction there will be increased levels of traffic to and from the site. We are exploring traffic reduction options, and we will work closely with the municipality to reduce the impact and provide clear notifications to residents in the area.

We intend to level the site in late 2026. The law requires us to carry this out in a responsible manner and to provide sufficient advance notice before any levelling takes place.

Data centres have modest local environmental pollution when compared to other industries. Data centres do not emit pollutants continuously during normal operation. The key source of local emissions come from backup generators, and these are intermittent and highly regulated. We have committed to running our backup generators on hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) rather than diesel, further minimising local emissions.

We have not done any assessments on this. Increased activity and more people employed locally could feasibly increase demand for housing. This will be relevant for the municipality to consider in their ongoing process for the zoning and use of land.

The plot of land on which our data centre will be built is approximately 420,000 square meters near Ertsmyra. Once built, our campus will occupy approximately 160,000 square meters, with a total building footprint of approximately 35,000 square meters.

There are cabins that may see the data centre, but noise in the operational phase will be very limited.

The area where we are building is not designated as agricultural, nature or recreation land (LNF), but has already been planned as an industrial area, with a large transformer station as its nearest neighbour.

The area in question has for several years been regulated by the municipality for industry purposes, and from the start of our project we acknowledge that these are questions that the municipality decide on.

We cannot comment on how the authorities handle complaints, but we welcome dialogue with anyone who has questions or feedback. That is also why we are holding several feedback meetings in Sirdal.

We evaluate all received input and are taking it into consideration as the project progresses. We remain committed to minimising the impact of our project on the local area and community.

Yes, we are informing residents and neighbours on what we are doing directly and through town hall meetings, social media, media and the municipality communication channel Sirdal Info.

We have held, and will continue to hold, several dialogue meetings with the local community in Josdal and Sirdal, businesses in the municipality and region, as well as cabin owners. Anyone who wishes to provide direct input can also send their feedback to [email protected].

Statnett have allocated a 300 MVA reservation. This represents absolute peak load of the data centre. However, under general operating conditions, actual usage will be materially less.

Building a 1 GW data centre platform is our long-term company ambition, and we are evaluating a range of potential sites across Europe to achieve that goal.

No, our reservation is factored into Statnett’s long term power forecast.

No, the reservation fits within existing capacity already available at Ertsmyra.

No, we purchase electricity at market price and do not receive any government or municipal support or subsidies.

GreenScale is unable to quantify this as it depends on a complex set of factors, including central government and municipality policy, the future composition of local industry, improved energy efficiency, and planned grid investments, all of which we are not party to.

Data centres are the new power intensive industry of our time. For Norway, we will provide a profitable operation and value creation for a large number of employees for decades to come.

No, we have been allocated energy within the framework of existing power production and grid capacity.

No. GreenScale is committed to building and operating sustainable data centres. Norway’s grid is one of the cleanest and most stable in all of Europe, making it an ideal location for our data centre development. The cold Norwegian climate also allows for energy-efficient data centre operations through ‘free-cooling’, reducing the need for mechanical cooling.

The data centre will connect to the transformer station at Ertsmyra. There is no need to build new power lines as a result of the data centre.

GreenScale is committed to making its excess heat available to the local community and businesses. We have already reached out to local business to assess the opportunities for heat offtake and are also in dialogue with Sirdal Business Association to explore new partnership opportunities. Our findings will be used to assess the costs and benefits, and will be shared with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) as required.

We have no plans to develop new energy generating assets to power our data centre. Given that the Ertsmyra node is a net exporter, and well connected to transmission to support the Nordlink connector, we do not believe our development will trigger additional wind power being built in the region.

Safety is our top priority. We operate under a strict “Mission Zero” approach, which means aiming for zero harm to people and the environment. All workers and contractors must follow robust health and safety procedures, risk assessments, and legal requirements at all times to ensure everyone on and around the site remains safe.

All incidents, including near misses, must be reported immediately and investigated thoroughly. Clear processes are in place to ensure rapid response, corrective action, and continuous improvement, helping prevent similar issues from happening again.

We carefully plan and manage all construction activities to minimise risk to the public and surrounding areas. This includes controlling site access, managing high-risk activities, and ensuring any concerns such as noise, traffic, or safety are addressed promptly and professionally.

All workers must have the appropriate skills, training, and experience before carrying out any work. They receive site-specific inductions and ongoing training and must follow strict safety procedures to ensure work is carried out safely and responsibly.

Data centre capacity is essential for critical services such as healthcare systems, banking and payments, public administration, industrial production, logistics, mobile networks, cloud services, and modern AI solutions. Computing power has become as fundamental as electricity itself.