A project struggling to catch up
Bloomberg reports that costly, avoidable mistakes account for much of the delay. The problems include major leaks in the cooling system, labor difficulties and a serious fire in electrical equipment.
Workers told Bloomberg about very long shifts, insufficient training and a lack of necessary health and safety rules. Norway’s Labour Inspection Authority also found serious problems in Nscale’s records: some personnel files listed only an employee’s name.
The company plans to bring in hundreds of contractors at short notice. With nearly all hotel rooms in Glomfjord already occupied, Nscale is looking to The Kalmar as accommodation. Workers would travel from the barge to the construction site.
The local bargain
Glomfjord has about 1,000 residents, and enthusiasm for the project is limited. Mayor Grete Anita Andersen told Bloomberg she hopes the data center will create 40 permanent jobs, though it remains unclear whether those jobs will materialize.
Sofie Marhaug, a Norwegian parliament member from the Socialist Left Party, told Bloomberg that data-center developers do not put Norway’s interests first. In her view, the economic benefits go elsewhere: jobs from Silicon Valley are not moving to Norway, while the country’s natural resources are being used.
I think the barge is more than a logistical fix. It makes visible the gap between a project’s promised local benefits and the conditions needed to build it. The announcement is quiet about how Nscale will address the reported safety and documentation failures, or whether the 40 permanent jobs will be enough to make the project feel like a gain for Glomfjord.
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