Google will spend $15 billion on AI infrastructure in Finland, anchored by three data centers and a long-term deal to buy a large share of the output from Fortum's Loviisa nuclear plant through 2049. The agreement fixes a major electricity cost just as Alphabet's capital spending and debt climb.
Google will pour $15 billion into AI infrastructure in Finland, anchored by three data centers in the country's north. The centerpiece of the buildout is a long-dated agreement to buy a large share of the output from Fortum's Loviisa nuclear plant, with deliveries running for roughly two decades starting near the end of this decade. That contract converts one of the least predictable costs in running data centers, wholesale electricity, into a fixed price through 2049.
A fixed power bill for two decades
The Loviisa station is a working Finnish nuclear complex, and Google's offtake secures a meaningful share of its generation for the life of the agreement. The Nordic sites also pair that supply with cold ambient air that cuts the cooling load data centers normally carry as a large recurring operating cost.
The deal lands as Alphabet's cloud business accelerates. Google Cloud grew 82% in the second quarter, with backlog nearly doubling to over $460 billion a quarter earlier. Sundar Pichai told investors: "Our AI investments are redefining what's possible across every part of our business." Gemini models now process 22 billion API tokens per minute, and running inference at that scale is largely a power problem.
The bill comes due before the savings do
Deliveries from Loviisa do not begin until the end of this decade, so the deal does not lower Alphabet's power costs in 2026 or 2027. Meanwhile the near-term financial picture has shifted. Free cash flow was negative $5.86 billion in the second quarter, and long-term debt climbed from $46.5 billion to $98.2 billion as the company suspended its buyback.
Management guided 2026 capital spending to $175 billion to $185 billion, up from $91.45 billion in 2025, after Q2 2026 capex alone hit almost $45 billion. Rivals can pursue similar arrangements: Microsoft, Amazon and Meta can sign their own European nuclear offtakes, and several already have.
Alphabet shares trade at $330.65, up 38.34% over one year, against an analyst price target of $428.07. Sell-side coverage includes 45 buy ratings and 13 strong-buy ratings.
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
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