All objections are brushed aside: “Data centers are something we can be sure we will need in the world in the future. Those who don’t believe it should turn off their cell phones.”

We are told that Støleheia is a “circular park”. Larsen og Skisland (LS) writes: “Data centers host artificial intelligence that helps solve health and environmental challenges. » “Before Christmas, Støleheia will be one of the largest artificial intelligence centers in Norway, with one of the most modern data center parks in the country.”

The authors here use “artificial intelligence” as a magic formula to convince readers of the blessing of the “circular park”. Anyone who has followed the broad debate about AI over the past six months knows that AI can also lead to major negative consequences that no one can predict.

LS’s argument is actually part of a campaign to obtain a license for more electricity for the planned expansion of Bulk’s data center in Støleheia. In the Dagens Næringsliv of October 16, 2020, Bulk’s long-term plans are revealed:

“The N01 Campus data center in Kristiansand is expected to be able to reach a capacity of 1,000 MW (1 GW). For comparison: Ashburn, Virginia, USA, recently surpassed 1,000 MW of computing capacity. It is the largest internet hub in the world and it is said that 70% of the world’s internet traffic passes through this city. » 1000 MW corresponds to approx. 250 windmills.

Cooling water is actively used for green washing of data centers. It is of course better to heat water than air, but large quantities of water require enormous amounts of energy, produced by our commonly owned cascade energy. The fundamental question becomes: what should we use our cascading public energy for? Will it be used by Google, Tiktok, Amazon and other tech giants? Is cryptocurrency mining a green circular economy? LS ignores these questions.

They also don’t mention that two of Bulk’s largest owners are registered in tax havens. One of them is the Canadian investment company BentallGreenOak LP (BGO), which owns 22.7 percent of Bulk’s shares. According to the website public companies BentallGreenOak has 37 subsidiaries, almost all registered in the tax havens of Delaware (United States) and the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. The other owner is Geveran Trading CO Ltd, of tax fugitive John Fredriksen, registered in Cyprus. They own 11.7 percent of the shares. There is no guarantee that foreign investment funds with roots in tax havens will not continue to invest in Bulk.

In 2018/19, Bulk was behind the construction of a 72,000 km fiber optic cable connecting the United States (New Jersey) to Denmark, Ireland and Norway. The participants in this project were Facebook, Amazon and Google. In this regard, Peder Nærbø, main owner and founder of Bulk, said: “Amazon is building a highway directly to the south of Norway” (DN 9/3-19), and Norway has “the opportunity to become Europe’s engine room for new data. centers powered by Norwegian hydroelectricity. » (DN 26/12 -17.) Finansavisen wrote on 22/12-20: “a larger, anonymous international group has moved the servers to a bulk infrastructure.”

Bulk keeps the identity of its customers secret. While the reader adds two plus two, we can meanwhile examine what type of business Amazon is:

Amazon is a very notorious company, owned by the third richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos. Based on the book “Amazon” by Swedish journalist Julia Lindblom. Behind the facade, workers in Amazon warehouses around the world are exposed to inhumane working conditions. It is a working life without rights where workers are constantly monitored. It’s hard work, low wages and temporary positions. Thousands of people are injured at work every year. Amazon is known for its anti-union practices and aggressive tax planning.

One of Amazon’s subsidiaries is Amazon Web Service (AWS), which helped finance the fiber optic cable connecting the United States to Norway. AWS sells basic IT infrastructure such as web hosting, databases, cloud services and computing power rental. AWS makes Bezos billions every year. Lindblom writes:

“In 2013, the CIA signed a contract with AWS to purchase cloud services for $600 million.” “Human rights organizations have also reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, is storing information – personal data on up to 250 million people, including fingerprints and facial photographs – via Amazon cloud services”.

Lindblom also writes about how Amazon itself will control the infrastructure across much of the online marketplace. Purchases on Amazon’s website account for two-thirds of all online shopping traffic in the United States. So almost every business that wants to sell online today depends on Amazon. Amazon’s business is constantly expanding into new areas.

Are these forces that we want to help strengthen through our shared hydroelectricity? Advice to Larsen and Skisland: do not trivialize the debate and do not underestimate the critical sense of the public.