The commitment extends Google’s presence in the country that began with the purchase of a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009.
The investment covers data centre and supporting infrastructure across four sites, Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, alongside clean energy projects and dedicated nature and community funds. During the construction phase, Google expects the initiative to contribute an average €3.6 billion annually to Finland’s GDP and support more than 37,000 jobs nationwide, around 16,000 of them in construction. Once operational, the facilities are projected to support 7,000 jobs a year, at wages 24% above Finland’s median.
“Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland with the company’s largest single investment in Europe, building on more than 15 years of sustained investment in Finland,” said Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google. “This investment underscores Google’s commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives.”
A power strategy built around location and nuclear life extension
Google is siting the new facilities in northern Finland rather than the more heavily built-out south, a decision it says lets it use existing grid infrastructure near carbon-free energy sources and reduces new grid investment costs across the country. The approach was developed with Finnish grid operator Fingrid and Business Finland.
The most significant single energy commitment is a 22-year power purchase agreement with Fortum to support a life extension programme for the Loviisa nuclear power plant near Google’s Hamina site, which currently employs around 580 people and supplies 10% of Finland’s electricity. Without the investment, Fortum says the plant could not continue operating beyond 2030. Google and Fortum have also signed a memorandum of understanding to explore new flexibility and generation capacity at the site, including potential new reactors, continuing a pattern of hyperscalers turning to nuclear power and long-term PPAs to secure baseload capacity for data centre growth.
Google is also adding onshore wind PPAs with Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli in the Ostrobothnia region, bringing its total new onshore wind capacity in Finland to 629MW, and has contracted a 94MW battery system near Kajaani, expected online in late 2027, to help balance the grid during low-wind periods.
“These investments are very welcome in Finland and demonstrate that it is possible to invest in AI infrastructure in a way that benefits both local communities and the broader energy system,” said Sari Multala, Finland’s Minister of Climate and the Environment.
Community and workforce commitments alongside the build
Google is committing €31 million over four years to Economic Community Partnerships across the four host municipalities, including €10 million for research and innovation, alongside municipal energy projects covering solar and heat-pump installations for low-income households, energy efficiency renovations and expanded backup power for emergency, health and water services.
On workforce, Google’s AI Opportunity Fund is targeting more than 4,400 workers for AI skills training through local partners Oamk, Tieke and Xamk, while a joint programme with vocational college EKAMI will train up to 100 Finnish students for data centre careers over the next year.
Nokia, Elisa and DNA are among the more than 600 Finnish suppliers that supported Google’s existing Hamina operations between 2023 and 2025, according to the company. “Every AI token is a network moment,” said Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard. “Nokia builds those networks. And with Google we’re co-innovating to deliver Optical and IP networks that move intelligence faster, farther and securely.”
The scale of the commitment, and the deliberate pairing of data centre build-out with grid investment and local buy-in, echoes the questions grid operators and hyperscalers have been debating across Europe this year about how AI infrastructure growth and power availability can scale together, a theme that is also set to run through several sessions at Capacity Europe next month.
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Capacity Europe 2026
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