The American tech giant Google has announced a €13 billion digital infrastructure investment in Finland spanning 2027 to 2028. As detailed in the official Google Cloud Press Corner release, the two-year expansion includes data center developments and supporting partnerships across Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala. This marks Google’s largest single investment package in Europe to date, aimed at scaling capacity for services like Gemini, Search, Maps, and YouTube while integrating directly into the Finnish energy grid.
“A 22-year life extension power purchase agreement (PPA) with Finnish energy company Fortum to provide the long-term revenue certainty needed to support the life extension program for the Loviisa nuclear power plant, located near Google’s Hamina data center. Without the lifetime extension investment program, the plant – which currently employs approximately 580 people and provides 10% of Finland’s electricity – could not continue operations beyond 2030,” – as noted in the Google Cloud Press Corner.
The Northern Grid Strategy
Rather than placing infrastructure in congested urban areas, Google worked alongside national transmission system operator Fingrid and Business Finland to select sites in Finland’s northern region (Muhos, Kajaani, and Vaala). Because northern Finland has significant existing grid capacity near carbon-free energy sources, this placement utilizes existing transmission infrastructure, reducing overall network development costs for the broader regional grid.
Beyond transmission placement, the project incorporates several local energy mechanisms:
Grid Storage: A contracted 94 MW battery storage system located near Kajaani, scheduled to go operational in late 2027 to help balance grid fluctuations.
District Heat Recovery: Building on the Hamina site’s offsite heat distribution (which covers up to 80% of Hamina’s annual district heating network needs), all new European data center designs will embed heat recovery readiness. 
Onshore Wind PPAs: Agreements with Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli bringing total supported onshore wind capacity to 629 MW.
Key Stakeholder Perspective
“Long-term partnerships like the one between Fortum and Google are essential to making that happen, especially in today’s uncertain market environment characterized by low visibility and highly volatile electricity prices. They provide the visibility needed to invest in new low-carbon power generation capacity, strengthen energy security and support new digital and industrial investments that create jobs, innovation and prosperity for Finland,” – stated Markus Rauramo, President and CEO of Fortum, as noted in the Google Cloud Press Corner.
Economic and Environmental Commitments
The initiative is projected to contribute an annual average of €3.6 billion to Finland’s GDP during construction (2027–2028) and support over 37,000 jobs nationwide. Once operational, the facilities are projected to support 7,000 jobs annually with average wages 24% above Finland’s median wage.
