Soviet nuclear reactor will power Google Finland data center

Soviet nuclear reactor will power Google Finland data center

Google promised From 2027 to 2028, Finland will invest 13 billion euros ($15.13 billion) in digital infrastructure. In addition, it has signed a PPA with Finnish energy company Fortum in Loviisa, designed for the resources of the local nuclear power plant, Report Data center updates.








The investment will include spending on facilities in Hamina, Kayani, Mujos and Huara. Google said this is the company’s largest single investment in Europe to date. The company acquired a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009 and converted it into a seawater-cooled data center. It has undergone several modernizations over the past 15 years, and in 2022 the company acquired more than 20 hectares of adjacent land to further expand its operations.

2024 her Purchased 1,400 hectares of land Finnish state agency Metsähallitus owns land in Kajaani and Muhos but has not announced detailed plans. In February 2026, the company acquired a further 900 hectares of land in the Var. Once all facilities are operational, approximately 7,000 people will be needed to provide services.

In addition, Google signed a power purchase agreement with local utility Fortum in Loviisa, the company’s first such agreement outside the United States. The 22-year agreement provides for the use of nuclear power plant resources based on two VVER-440s, each with a capacity of 507 MW. The power plant came into operation in 1970. The PPA is expected to help extend the life of reactors and modernize nuclear power plants until 2050. Google will purchase 50% of the power station’s capacity from 2030 to 2049. The PPA will come into force in 2028, although initially it will cover a smaller share of energy.

    Image source: Tapio Haaja/unsplash.com

Image source: Tapio Haaja/unsplash.com

Today, Fortum is modernizing the station. A special investment program provides for an investment of approximately €1 billion ($1.16 billion) to extend the power plant’s operating life until 2050. According to the company, 80% of the project’s capital costs are “subject to an investment decision.” Fortum has said the power purchase agreement will provide the confidence to secure the revenue needed to continue investment to extend the life of the nuclear power plant by 100%, providing the opportunity to add 100 MW of capacity in addition to the 38 MW planned for 2028.

Google has also signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at supporting the development of business partners in Finland and ensuring the generation of additional production capacity in the country. The memorandum also stipulates the parameters for interaction between companies in the field of research and development and also addresses the training of experts in the engineering profession. As part of the agreement, the companies agreed to optimize a new 94-megawatt energy storage facility contracted by Google that will be located near hyperscale enterprise Kajaani’s new data center.

Google claims that extending the life of the power plants will help mitigate the impact of the retirement of large amounts of generating capacity in the south of the country. In addition to the Fortum PPA, Google has reportedly invested in Finnish energy initiatives, including two wind energy projects led by Valorem and Suomen Hyötytuuli.

Google is involved in many energy projects around the world. In October 2025, she draw conclusions Signed a power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy to purchase clean energy from the 615-MW Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear power plant in Iowa. There are also companies sign 200 MW PPA and PPA with fusion technology supplier Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) 50MWh Kairos Power specializes in small nuclear reactors (SMRs). Furthermore, she concluded Strategy Agreement with Element Power to implement three nuclear power projects in the United States.

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