Alphabet-owned Google announced plans for its largest ever European investment: the company intends to expand AI-serving data-center infrastructure in Finland by at least €13 billion over the next two years. In a Wednesday statement, Google said the plans include building at least three new data centers and enlarging its existing facility in Hamina in southeastern Finland.
Part of a wider Finnish build-out and local advantages
Google’s move is part of a broader expansion of computing capacity in Finland: projects that are planned or already under way in the country are estimated at about €43 billion in total. The company cited several local advantages: Finland’s relatively cool climate reduces cooling needs and allows waste heat from servers to be reused for heating buildings. Approximately 96 percent of Finland’s electricity generation comes from carbon-free sources, primarily nuclear and renewables. Many Finnish data centers operate closed-loop water systems and the country has ample fresh water supplies.
Locations and jobs
Google said the new data centers will be built in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala in the country’s northern regions, where it has previously purchased land. The company estimates the projects will employ about 16,000 construction workers.
A key selection factor for the sites was the ability to leverage existing electrical-grid infrastructure.
Energy arrangements and technical measures
Google also said it will expand the energy infrastructure serving the projects: it will sign new power-purchase agreements for wind energy and build a 94-megawatt battery energy-storage system in Kajaani to help balance the grid. The data centers will be designed to enable recovery of waste heat.
Fortum announced a 22-year power-purchase agreement with Google that covers half of the output of the Loviisa nuclear power plant during its extended operating period. According to Fortum, between 2030 and 2049 the agreement will cover 50 percent of the two-reactor plant’s capacity. Fortum will sell part of the Loviisa plant’s production directly to Google.
Impact on local industry and markets
The announcement gave an immediate boost to local firms that stand to benefit. Fortum’s shares rose by more than 11 percent—the company’s largest gain in nearly four years. Nokia’s stock also strengthened, at times up about 6 percent, and Elisa, the telecommunications operator, saw its shares rise roughly 2 percent. These companies will participate in providing network infrastructure and related services for the new data centers.
Other players and regulatory response
Besides Google, other companies building, operating or planning data centers in Finland include Microsoft Corp., Nscale, AtNorth Holding AB, Pure Data Centres Group, Nebius Group NV, DayOne Data Centers and Polarnode. With so many projects underway, the Finnish government is preparing legislation that would require data-center operators to register so authorities can track all facilities.
Why this matters for Finland
The investments represent significant economic stimulus for Finland, which has struggled to restart growth amid weak domestic demand, the collapse of trade with neighboring Russia and fiscal tightening to stabilize public finances. Finland’s unemployment rate has exceeded 10 percent, the highest in the European Union. Google's projects therefore promise job creation and new industrial activity that could provide a measure of economic relief.
(The company announcement was released in a Wednesday statement; no specific calendar date was provided in the release.)
