Mayor furious as data centers pushed to back of power grid queue

The Danish government plans to prioritize households and businesses over data centers when allocating limited electricity grid capacity, a move that has angered the mayor of Guldborgsund Municipality.

Climate, Energy, and Supply Minister Samira Nawa (R) has called for parliamentary discussions on a priority model for grid access, with data centers set to be placed last in line, according to DR.

Guldborgsund Mayor Simon Hansen (S) condemned the proposal, stating his municipality had already sold 35 hectares of land—equivalent to 49 football fields—to Garbe Data Centers near Nørre Alslev, contingent on grid connection. The sale is the largest in the municipality’s history.

“We need to consider the maturity of these projects. Our data center has all planning approvals, the land is sold—the only missing piece is the grid connection,” Hansen said.

He emphasized the economic impact, noting the project would create up to 800 jobs during construction and 300–400 permanent positions afterward—a significant boost for Guldborgsund.

In a written response to DR, Nawa defended the prioritization: “Grid capacity is a scarce resource and will remain so for years. We must prioritize households and ordinary businesses. Others will have to wait.”

Enhedslisten’s IT spokesperson, Eva Flyvholm, welcomed the political debate, calling the current system chaotic. DR’s climate correspondent, Maria C. Andersen, noted the shift away from a first-come, first-served model aligns with long-standing demands from Energinet, Denmark’s grid operator.

Hansen also argued that Guldborgsund, already a major producer of green energy, should benefit from investment in the sector: “It’s absurd that we can’t be part of this growth opportunity when investors want to pour billions into our municipality.”