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'Biggest Data Center' To Be Built in Arctic (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the for-the-record dept.

A small town in the remote north of the Arctic Circle is set to be home to the world's largest data center. From a report: The firm behind the project, Kolos, says the chilled air and abundant hydropower available locally would help it keep its energy costs down. The area, however, suffers the country's highest rate of sick leave from work, which may be related to its past as a mining community. The US-Norwegian company says it has already raised "several million dollars" for the project from Norwegian private investors. However, it is still working with a US investment bank to secure the remaining necessary funds.

4 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Fortitude by mydn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sounds like the sequel to Fortitude.

  2. Just an idea by captaindomon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    From the article: "The US-Norwegian company says it has already raised "several million dollars" for the project from Norwegian private investors. However, it is still working with a US investment bank to secure the remaining necessary funds." So it's just an interesting idea and a grab for investor funds right now.

    --
    Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
  3. Vendor response time by shuz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am curious how they plan to service the town. The town airport doesn't even show up on the list of airports in the country. I would estimate it at 200ft or less. A Beechcraft Kingair, a typical small town cargo plane, requires more runway space. Narvik is the closest large airport and that is 110 miles away through a twisty highway through the fjords. Ships are great for large cargo but not for fast cargo. The DC manager can overcome some vendor issues by having trained/certified intelligent hands that work shifts. But if you are creating the largest datacenter in the world then I hope that you also plan to have a large commercial airport as well and possibly some amount of major vendor buy in. Expect requirements of 4 hours or less vendor presence. 4 hours from Narvik to Ballangen in the winter might be tricky.

    Good luck with the logistics!

    --
    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
  4. What about by bobstreo · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Latency?

    Ping times to the Arctic would be bad.

      Fiber to the location would be quite expensive. Permafrost isn't the most stable land to build on.

    And where are they going to find people to work there?