Power decides where new capacity gets built. Here is what a buyer should look at before taking space in the Nordics.
Signings of AI-focused colocation capacity in Europe went from 89 MW to 420 MW between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, and two-thirds of it is to be delivered in the Nordics (CBRE, 2026).
For a buyer, that moves the questions upstream. Floor space and connectivity still matter, but the first question is power: where it comes from, how the connection is set up, and what's actually in writing.
What a ready facility looks like
Four things have to line up before a hall is worth signing for.
1. Grid. A connection with real headroom, on paper. Queues have grown across Europe, the Nordics included. Ask to see the connection agreement itself, not a slide about it.
2. Energy. Where the power comes from and on what terms. Hydro leads the Norwegian mix, and Sweden and Finland add nuclear and wind. Ask who supplies it, for how long, and how the price can move over the term.
3. Cooling. Cooling designed for the density you plan to run, with room to grow. The climate helps: for most months the outside air is cool enough to cut what goes into cooling. Ask for the design figures and how they were measured.
4. Operations. Who runs the site day and night, how fast they respond, and what you can see of it. Ask for the response terms in the contract.
Colocation or built to suit?
Colocation gets you into an existing hall sooner. Built to suit gets you a hall designed around your load. It's a trade-off between speed and fit, and an operator that can do both on the same site lets you start in one and grow into the other.
Quick answers
What is data center colocation?
You own the hardware and place it in an operator's building. The operator provides the power, the space, the cooling, the network and the day-to-day operations under a long-term agreement.
Why the Nordics?
Plenty of low-carbon power, cool air that lowers cooling costs, and rules that energy-intensive industry has worked with for decades.
What density should I plan for?
Plan for the hardware you'll run in a few years, not only today's. Ask the operator what the hall was designed for and what it would take to go higher.
How fast can capacity be delivered?
It depends mostly on where the operator stands with the grid. Ask to see it in writing.