Google has announced at least €13 billion in Finnish digital infrastructure, energy, and community investment for 2027–2028. The plan covers new data centers in Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, an expansion of Google’s existing Hamina site, and a 22-year power-purchase agreement with Fortum connected to the Loviisa nuclear plant.
Google’s €13 billion Finnish buildout
The announcement is much more than a list of server buildings. Google is pairing a planned expansion of computing capacity with long-term electricity procurement, new wind capacity, and battery storage. The company says the infrastructure will support AI services including Gemini, as well as Search, Maps, and YouTube.
Google’s existing Finnish presence began at Hamina, where the company bought a former paper mill in 2009 and opened its first data center in 2011. The new plan adds three locations—Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala—and expands Hamina. Construction is planned for 2027–2028.
| Project element | Location or scope | Amount, capacity, or duration | Timing or condition |
| New data centers | Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala | Three facilities | Planned construction during 2027–2028 |
| Existing-site expansion | Hamina | Expansion of Google’s data-center site | Planned as part of the 2027–2028 buildout |
| Power-purchase agreement | Electricity linked to the Loviisa nuclear plant | 22 years | Google’s contracted share scales to up to 50% of total Loviisa capacity during 2030–2049 |
| Battery system | Near Kajaani | 94 MW | Expected to become operational in late 2027 |
| Onshore wind | Google-supported Finnish projects | 629 MW of new-to-the-grid capacity | Part of the announced energy package |
| Community program | Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala | €31 million over four years | Announced community partnerships |
Why Finland is attractive for AI infrastructure
AI data centers need enormous, steady power supplies. That makes the electricity system part of the computing strategy, not a footnote buried in a press release.
Fingrid, Finland’s transmission-system operator, has said that the northern locations have significant grid capacity for additional electricity consumption. Google is also working with Elisa on connectivity and with Nokia on optical and IP network infrastructure. Those partnerships point to the less glamorous—but absolutely essential—side of AI expansion: moving data reliably is as important as housing the servers.
Finland’s cold climate and existing industrial infrastructure also fit the physical demands of large data centers. Still, the project’s exact technical design varies by site. Hamina is documented as using seawater cooling, but that does not establish the cooling systems for the inland locations in Kajaani, Muhos, or Vaala.
A power-purchase agreement, not a nuclear-plant acquisition
Google is not buying the Loviisa nuclear power plant. The agreement is a power-purchase agreement, or PPA: a long-term contract for electricity between Google and Fortum, the Finnish utility connected to the facility.
The contract lasts 22 years. Fortum’s schedule says Google’s contracted share begins at a smaller capacity in 2028 and scales to as much as 50% of Loviisa’s total capacity during 2030–2049. That schedule is narrower than saying Google receives half of the plant’s output for the entire contract.
The arrangement is designed to provide revenue certainty for Fortum’s life-extension program, which the company describes as necessary to keep Loviisa operating beyond 2030. Google is therefore securing electricity through a long-term commercial agreement; it is not taking ownership of the plant.
The battery and wind additions
The energy package extends beyond nuclear power. Google says it is supporting 629 MW of new onshore-wind capacity in Finland and has contracted a 94 MW battery system near Kajaani.
The battery figure is a power-capacity measurement, expressed in megawatts. It does not, by itself, say how many hours the system can deliver electricity; that would require an energy-capacity figure in megawatt-hours. Even so, the announced battery is an important part of the infrastructure picture because data centers run continuously while wind generation varies.
Google also announced €31 million in community partnerships over four years for Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala. The program is intended to accompany the physical expansion with local initiatives. Separately, Google says its AI-skills program will reach more than 4,400 workers and that up to 100 Finnish students will take part in local data-center training over one year.
What the economic numbers mean
Google projects that the initial construction phase will support more than 37,000 jobs nationwide, including approximately 16,000 construction jobs, and contribute an average of €3.6 billion per year to Finland’s GDP during 2027–2028.
Those figures describe projected economic impact during construction—not a confirmed permanent headcount. Google separately projects about 7,000 jobs annually once the facilities are operating, including on-site roles, supplier employment, and jobs supported by local spending. That number is broader than the number of people directly employed inside Google’s data centers.
The distinction matters. A construction project can support many jobs over a defined period, while a completed data-center network may involve a smaller direct workforce plus wider supplier and local-spending effects. The two figures should not be treated as interchangeable.
The questions that matter next
The announcement sets out a major plan, but several practical consequences will depend on how the projects develop. The effect on Finnish household electricity prices has not been quantified in the announced figures, and the project’s final water use at the three inland sites has not been specified.
The same caution applies to jobs and economic impact: the headline numbers are Google’s projections rather than completed outcomes. Construction, commissioning, and the eventual operating footprint remain tied to the project schedule.
For readers tracking the energy side, the most important dates are distinct. Construction is planned for 2027–2028. The Kajaani battery is expected in late 2027. The Fortum agreement runs for 22 years, with Google’s contracted share reaching up to 50% of Loviisa’s capacity during 2030–2049.
Google’s Finnish expansion is therefore best understood as a coordinated infrastructure bet: more computing sites, a long-term electricity contract, wind capacity, storage, networks, and local programs moving on related tracks. The size of the announcement is clear; its lasting impact will be measured by what gets built, how the energy system handles the load, and how closely the projected benefits match the eventual results.
