Presentation short abstract

This paper examines data centers in rural Norway as ambiguous infrastructures, positioned between national policies, municipal interests and foreign investors, where contested classifications fuel conflict and expose underlying tensions within the green transition.

Presentation long abstract

This paper examines how data centers have become sites of socio-ecological ambiguity and green extractivism in rural Norway. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and anthropological theory, it analyzes how municipalities, industry actors and environmental groups struggle to define what a data center is and what role it should play in the green transition. Mary Douglas’ insights on classification is applied as a way to illuminate why data centers may emerge as anomalous objects that unsettle categories such as industry, infrastructure and environmental initiatives, generating both optimism and resistance. Court rulings, planning conflicts and public debate show how definitional power shapes land use, regulation and socio-ecological risk. Using Igor Kopytoff’s notion of "cultural biographies of things", the paper traces how data centers shift identity as they move across economic, political and environmental regimes, revealing conflicting value claims.

The analysis situates the Norwegian cases within critical infrastructure studies by engaging Patrick Brodie’s work on climate extraction and corporate hospitality in Ireland´s data center sector. These concepts highlight how rural territories are positioned as green resource frontiers through their provision of land, energy and political predictability for global technology firms. The paper argues that data centers exemplify the tensions at the heart of green transitions, where promises of sustainable growth, digital innovation and local benefit collide with extractive practices, infrastructural burdens and uncertain long-term outcomes.