Power-intensive data centres are choosing southern Sweden despite cheaper green electricity and natural cooling in the north. That makes grid access more than a question of price: when capacity cannot serve every applicant, Svenska kraftnät and policymakers should explain who gets connected first and on what grounds.
SVT, citing Svenska kraftnät data, reports that power-intensive data centres want to locate in Sweden’s southern half. At the same time, companies seeking to establish or expand are in a queue at the grid operator, while electricity is insufficient for all of them, SVT reports.
Amazon shows why lower power prices do not settle the location decision. The company has three data centres in Sweden and puts proximity to customers ahead of natural cooling and cheaper electricity, according to SVT. Kellen O’Connor, Amazon’s northern Europe chief, said Mälardalen is close to Nordic cities and remains relatively cool by global standards.
That is a credible commercial case. Customer proximity can matter for service delivery and latency. But it does not answer the public question created by scarce connection capacity. When demand concentrates where grid access is already contested, choosing between projects becomes a matter of public priorities even if the investments are private.
The available material does not state the number or megawatt scale of applications in the north and south. It also does not show which projects are most mature. No conclusion can therefore be drawn about individual applications, electricity prices or effects on other industries.
The central point remains clear: cheaper northern electricity is not an automatic answer when customers are closer to southern Sweden. Sweden needs transparent principles for weighing credible projects, regional needs and each project’s actual electricity supply against limited grid capacity.
Sources
- SVT Nyheter · Source date: 2026-11-15
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-15
Sweden’s 7,300 MW data-centre queue needs a clearer grid test