Overview
- Google announced on Wednesday that it will invest €13 billion over the next two years to expand and build data centres in Hamina, Muhos, Kajaani and Vaala to support AI services.
- The package includes a 22-year power purchase agreement with Fortum that aims to cover up to half of Loviisa’s output and underwrite an extension of the plant’s operating life.
- Fortum says roughly €1 billion of work will be needed at Loviisa and the deal also commits Google to additional clean-energy purchases, onshore wind offtake, battery storage and grid upgrades.
- Google projects the programme could raise Finland’s annual GDP by about €3.6 billion and secure or create more than 37,000 jobs during construction and operations, a boost Finnish leaders have welcomed.
- Finland’s cool climate, existing nuclear capacity and available grid make it attractive for hyperscale centres, but the plan raises trade-offs over large electricity and water use and the local impacts of new data‑centre clusters.