Data Centers

Norway has seen significant growth in the data center sector in recent years. Several large-scale projects are underway and data center projects represent close to half of the Norwegian grid capacity queue. The key drivers for the growth in this sector include availability of renewable energy at relative low power prices compared to other European countries, a stable and reliable power grid and advanced fiber networks. Norway’s natural cold climate reduces the need for cooling systems and lowers power consumption. Adding to this, our regulatory environment ensure high level of data protection standards, sufficient security regulations and a stable legislative regime.

Highly competent team with relevant industry knowledge and insight. They are available and deliver efficient and practical advice
Legal 500

The first national data center strategy was launched in 2018 and updated in 2025 re-affirming the government’s ambition to be the leading host for secure and sustainable data centers. Norway remains attractive for such data centers with investments projected to reach several USD billion by 2030.

Wiersholm has over several years worked on multiple projects relating to this sector, in particular data center developments, acquisitions and investments. Our data center team comprises experts from all relevant legal disciplines, including corporate, finance, tax, energy, regulatory, real estate, construction and IPR/technology, which enables a holistic approach drawing on our team’s broad and significant industry knowledge.

Our first-hand knowledge of current drivers and challenges facing the data centre sector, as well as our international client capabilities, positions us to give value-added advice to our clients.

Our services cover the whole value chain, including:

M&A, including sale and purchase of data center companies and assets, due diligence and risk assessment.

Selection and establishment of company and project structures, including cooperation agreements and joint ventures, corporate governance, financing models, tax and VAT considerations.

Grid connection processes and maturity requirements, capacity queues/reservations, grid investment contribution and disputes managed by the Norwegian Energy Regulatory Authority (RME).

Negotiation of power supply agreements, including physical and financial PPAs, balancing services and purchase of guarantees of origin.

Obtaining licenses pursuant to the Energy Act, including facility license for electrical installations, trading license to re-sell power to data center customers and cost-benefit analysis on utilization of excess heat.

Land acquisition including option agreements, purchase agreements and right of way.

Zoning, including dialogue with relevant authorities, building permits and complaint processes.

Negotiation of consultancy, hardware supply/installation and construction agreements including contract management during the construction phase and assistance in connection with the final settlement.

Pollution permit filings, dialogue with the Norwegian Environment Agency, obtaining permits for emission of quota-obligated greenhouse gases as well as evaluating compliance programs for monitoring and reporting emissions.

Advice on application and compliance with the National Security Act and dialogue with the National Security Authority.

Negotiation of data center services agreements, lease agreements, co-location agreements, hosting and security and “as-a-service” business models.

Regulatory compliance based on data center risk profile including GDPR, Electronic Communication Act, Data Center Regulation and the Digital Security Act.

Registration processes and dialogue with the Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom).

Data center financing including multi-jurisdictional financing.

The complexity of the regulatory landscape for digital infrastructures, including data centers, has increased in the recent years. Wiersholm’s team has considerable experience mapping and advising data center players with regards to ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements deriving from the Electronic Communication Act and associated Data Center Regulation, the Digital Security Act and GDPR. Furthermore, we closely monitor and advise on relevant legal developments in this sector, including the Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, Cyber Resilience Act, EU AI Act and NIS2 Directive, all of which may directly or indirectly impact data center operations.

Our comprehensive data center practice delivers end-to-end legal support for the full development lifecycle, from initial site evaluation through operational compliance. We coordinate across all required legal disciplines to ensure that development and other process milestones align with Norway’s unique regulatory requirements. This cross-disciplinary approach eliminates coordination inefficiencies while ensuring that all legal workstreams support, rather than complicate, your acquisition and development objectives in the Norwegian market.