Google commits $15B to Finland and signs a 22-year deal to keep an aging nuclear plant running
The power-purchase agreement takes up to half the Loviisa plant's output through 2050 -- AI data-center demand directly underwriting a nuclear plant's survival, not just buying grid power.
Google announced on September 9, 2026 that it will invest at least €13 billion (roughly $15 billion) in Finland over 2027-28, expanding its existing Hamina data center campus and building new sites near Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala. The centerpiece is a 22-year power purchase agreement for up to 50% of the Loviisa nuclear plant's output, rising from 2028 to a full share by 2030 through 2049 -- keeping the aging VVER-440 reactor, currently supplying about 10% of Finland's electricity, running through 2050. Google also locked in 629 megawatts of onshore wind and a 94-megawatt battery system.
Underwriting a power plant, not just buying power
Alphabet and Google president and CIO Ruth Porat framed the investment as one that "underscores Google's commitment to grow our presence responsibly." The more consequential detail is the structure: a 22-year commitment tied directly to a specific, aging nuclear asset's continued operation is a hyperscaler extending a power plant's operating life to secure its own AI capacity, not simply purchasing electricity off an existing grid.
A template other AI infrastructure buyers may follow
Tying new AI data-center capacity to a long-term nuclear power-purchase agreement -- with real regional economic figures attached (Google cites roughly €3.6 billion a year in impact and 37,000 construction jobs) -- is a concrete model for how AI power demand is starting to directly shape energy infrastructure decisions, not just consume whatever capacity already exists. For finance and infrastructure leaders modeling long-term AI compute costs, power-sourcing structures like this one are becoming as relevant as chip pricing.