Google will buy half the electricity from one of Finland's nuclear power plants(bbc.com)
215 points by lukaspetersson 11 hours ago | 220 comments
tl;dr: Google is investing €13bn in Finland—its largest single European investment—to build three new data centres, expand its Hamina site, and power growing AI demand. As part of the deal, Google signed a 22-year contract with utility Fortum to purchase up to 50% of the output from the Loviisa nuclear plant, which supplies about 10% of Finland's electricity. Finland's cool climate, low-carbon power, and uncongested grid have made it a magnet for data centre investment, with TikTok also announcing a $1bn facility there this week.
HN Discussion:
  • Deal is PR/financial maneuver, not real investment in new power infrastructure
  • Finland's low-carbon electricity makes it a genuinely good location for data centres
  • ~Questioning whether Google's deal meets the 'additionality' standard for clean energy investment
  • Skepticism about whether massive data centre buildout will be needed given efficiency gains
  • Hope this deal spurs more nuclear power plant construction across Europe