The Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment is considering a private member's bill from several MPs on a national licensing system for data centres. The committee majority asks the government to assess the public benefit of data centre projects and return with a proposal to ban data centres used for cryptocurrency mining. A minority proposes separate motions on investigating a licensing system.
AI-generated summary · Model: Claude Haiku 4.5 · Generated: 14 May 2026
These are the proposals in the document, not decisions. See the votes for the outcome.
The Storting asks the government to assess the public benefit of various data centre projects and their effects on employment, value creation, preparedness, security, and other areas such as the power system, and to report back to the Storting in an appropriate manner.
The Storting asks the government to return with a proposal to ban the establishment of data centres for cryptocurrency mining.
The Storting asks the government to investigate how to manage the sharp increase in electricity demand from data centres, including investigating the introduction of a national licensing system, and to report back to the Storting by the end of 2026.
The Storting asks the government to investigate a licensing system for data centres, including its design and effects, and to report back to the Storting by the time of the state budget for 2027.
The Storting asks the government to return with a proposal for a national licensing system for data centres, with criteria requiring demonstration of public benefit, disclosure of data centre ownership and customers, and utilization of waste heat.