Published 2026-10-20 · Event 2026-09-24 · The editorial team

Skellefteå grants building permit for EdgeConneX's first two data-centre buildings

The municipal building and environment committee granted the permit on 24 September 2026 for the property Ackumulatorn 3 on the former Northvolt site. Construction may not start until the municipality has issued a start notice.

Skellefteå's building and environment committee (bygg- och miljönämnden) granted a permit on 24 September 2026 for a new data-centre building, DC02, and for changing the use of the existing buildings DS4 and FA03 to a data centre, DC01, on the property Ackumulatorn 3. The municipality's public notice, case number 2026-3140, is posted on its digital notice board from 28 September to 2 November 2026. The notice does not name the applicant.

SVT Västerbotten reported on 1 October that the permit was granted to EdgeConneX and covers the two buildings in the first phase of its data centre at the Bergsbyn industrial area, on the former Northvolt site next to Lyten's battery factory. According to documents reviewed by SVT, the first phase is planned to be complete in 2028. A second phase with five more buildings is planned for early 2031; SVT reports that EdgeConneX has not yet applied for a building permit for it.

A building permit is not a construction start. The municipality's decision states that work may not begin before the committee has issued a start notice (startbesked). The municipality's head of building permits told SVT that a technical consultation, which the company has to book, is required before a start notice can be given.

Power figures come from consultation documents, not from the permit. On 28 September SVT reported that documents sent to the County Administrative Board ahead of consultation describe seven buildings, each with a capacity of between 96 and 150 MW, and that the consultation process runs from autumn 2026 to early 2027. These are planned figures. EdgeConneX's own announcement on 27 February 2026 described a campus with potential capacity of up to one gigawatt, subject to administrative and regulatory processes.

On grid access, Skellefteå Kraft told SVT in August that EdgeConneX and Lyten are taking over Northvolt's former grid connections, but did not disclose the contracted capacity. The project is now in the DataCenterSweden register as in development, with the building permit recorded as documented and the start notice, grid capacity and consultation outcome as open questions.

Why it matters

The permit is a dated municipal decision for the EdgeConneX site in Skellefteå. It moves the project from an announced campus to approved buildings, while the start notice, grid capacity and consultation remain open.

What remains unknown

The sources do not give the IT load or contracted grid capacity of the first two buildings, a start-notice date, the investment amount, customers, or whether the permit has gained legal force.

Sources