Key facts
- Data centers are now the main financiers of new Finnish power capacity.
- Google signed a 507 MW, 22-year nuclear power purchase agreement with Fortum.
- The Loviisa plant, backed by the PPA, supplies 10% of Finland's electricity.
- Finland's data center capacity is forecast to rise from 0.8 GW in 2026 to 5 GW by 2035.
- Data centers could account for 15% of national power consumption by 2030.
- Finland may replace its grid connection queue with a priority system favoring firm supply.
Data centers are increasingly driving new power capacity development in Finland, shifting demand from renewable volume to sources that provide baseload supply. Google's 507-megawatt (MW) agreement with Fortum for its Loviisa nuclear plant is the largest power purchase agreement (PPA) ever signed in the country and its first for nuclear power. The 22-year tenor of this deal ensures the plant, which supplies 10% of Finland's electricity, will continue operating beyond its previously scheduled 2030 retirement.
Finland is poised to become Europe's fifth-largest data center market by 2035, with installed capacity expected to surge from 0.8 GW in 2026 to 5 GW by 2035. By 2030, data centers could represent approximately 15% of the nation's power consumption, making them the primary driver of new demand. The country's attractive location is attributed to cheap onshore wind, a robust grid, low energy emissions, and a cold climate that reduces cooling costs.
Data centers have surpassed manufacturing and industrial firms as the largest power buyers in Finland. Google's Loviisa PPA at 507 MW is larger than Amazon's 367 MW contract with OX2 for the Rajamäenkylä wind project. The 22-year duration of Google's deal is more than double that of recent onshore wind and solar PPAs.
Onshore wind is anticipated to lead Finland's renewable expansion through 2035. While high wind and solar penetration has led to negative power prices, the rapid expansion of battery capacity is expected to enable hybrid PPAs that pair renewable and battery offtake, meeting the uptime requirements of data center operators.
Grid access is emerging as a potential bottleneck. Finland is considering replacing its first-come, first-served grid connection queue with a priority procedure that would favor newly built, local, and firm power supply, potentially impacting data center and battery developers. This proposal would reward developers who pair their load with dispatchable capacity outside the congested southern regions of the country.