City councils in Denmark have scrapped or paused one datacenter project after another as local resistance grows, and the industry is watching closely. "We follow that very, very closely," said Henrik Hansen, director of Datacenter Industrien, according to DR.
Hansen said the industry now draws far more attention. "I don't know if we've done so much wrong," he said. "But there has been much more attention around this industry. He added that Denmark has no choice but to build more. "We have no choice.
But we must do it in a controlled way, and we must do it in close dialogue with a great many stakeholders who have a stake or interest in this," he said. The association has reached out to local opponents and to green organisations at national level.
Minister for Business and Competition Martin Lidegaard (R) has announced that the government is working on a datacenter strategy with three crucial points. The need for new datacenters, which, for example, are to support Denmark's use of artificial intelligence, must be examined. It must be investigated who should build the datacenters.
And the energy policy situation must be assessed so datacenters are placed where they are of greatest benefit to the grid and can most easily be supplied with renewable energy.
Andreas Holbak Espersen, branch director for the digital area at Dansk Industri, said no Danish companies or public authorities can avoid depending on digital solutions. He said it is entirely legitimate for neighbours to ask questions about power consumption, noise and environmental impact. "But there is another part to the equation, and that concerns competitive companies and a public sector at a time when artificial intelligence offers new opportunities," he said.
According to the industry itself, there are around 55 datacenters in Denmark, and Ingeniøren has recently mapped how another 29 are on the way.
Earlier coverage
- Danes Revolt Against Microsoft Data Centre Plans (28 Oct 2026)