Polish utility PGE and state institute NASK to build state data centres

By Marta Maciag and Stefan Gardawski SOPOT, Oct 15 (Reuters) — Poland's state-controlled utility PGE has signed an agreement with research institute NASK to develop data centres, officials said on Thursday, though the number of facilities has yet to be determined. The government wants state institutions to become a computing hub to ensure technological sovereignty remains "in the Polish hands of Polish institutions," Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said. • Building the data centres on PGE's land could cut construction costs by up to a third, Gawkowski said at the European Forum for New Ideas in Sopot • State Assets Minister Wojciech Balczun said he could not yet specify how many data centres would be built • The companies will start with an audit of existing and potential sites, with costs to depend on demand and pending estimates, he added • The data centres would give access to heat that could be supplied to local communities directly by combined heat and power plants managed by PGE, Balczun said (Writing by Rafal Nowak; editing by Bartosz Dabrowski) ((RafalWojciech.Nowak@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 63;)