In a boost to Finland’s Loviisa plant, Google and Fortum ink nuclear PPA

Google and Nordic energy company Fortum have reached a multidecade nuclear power purchase agreement (PPA) that will provide the tech giant power from Finland's Loviisa plant through 2050, the two companies announced Wednesday.

The PPA further justifies Finland's 2023 decision to extend Loviisa's operating license until the end of 2050. Since the 2023 decision, Fortum has adopted a life extension investment program to support the plant for another couple of decades. According to Fortum, the investments are expected to reach €1 billion (approximately $1.16 billion) by 2050. Work is already underway, including a major turbine modernization project that will be implemented during outages in 2026 and 2028.

Loviisa would provide power to Google's data center infrastructure in Finland beginning in 2028 under the PPA. Between 2030 and 2049, Google's share of Loviisa's operating capacity will be 50 percent. Furthermore, the PPA is expected to enable 10 MW of new capacity at the plant; already, Loviisa is scheduled for a 38-MW uprate.

According to the parties involved, this PPA provides the revenue certainty Loviisa needs to stay on line into 2050.

"By supporting the lifetime extension of the Loviisa plant, which is located close to our data center in Hamina where we first put down our roots in Finland, we're doing our part to keep a critical energy source on the grid, mitigating system impacts from meaningful capacity going off line in the south of the country," said Aris Karcanias, Google's director of energy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. "As we work with Fortum and other partners to bring new renewable capacity and flexible solutions to the Finnish grid alongside our growth, we hope to develop a blueprint for responsible integration of AI into European energy systems."

The agreement also includes a memorandum of understanding that will have both companies explore bringing additional energy supply to Finland's grid, including potential new nuclear opportunities at Loviisa. Currently, Loviisa has two pressurized water reactors with a combined operating capacity of 1,014 MWe, while Olkiluoto, operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, has three reactors with a total capacity of 3,355 MWe.

Google's PPA with Fortum comes as the tech company also announced plans for other energy projects in the country, including two onshore wind projects and a battery system project. Closer to home, Google is involved in the restart of the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa following the signing of a PPA with plant operator NextEra Energy.

"Finland has a unique opportunity to turn its decarbonized, reliable electricity system and robust industrial infrastructure into a foundation for the next wave of sustainable industrial growth. Long-term partnerships like the one between Fortum and Google are essential to making that happen, especially in today's uncertain market environment characterized by low visibility and highly volatile electricity prices," Fortum president and CEO Markus Rauramo said in a statement.

Fortum's plans for Sweden: Fortum, meanwhile, announced in late August its subsidiary NuCore Energi had submitted a state aid application with the Swedish government announcing its intentions for a new nuclear power project in Oskarshamn Municipality. According to the announcement, the new nuclear project would generate between 1,200 MWe and 3,400 MWe.

NuCore Energi formed following a Fortum feasibility study exploring new nuclear opportunities in Finland and Sweden. The Swedish government has been taking state aid applications from companies interested in deploying new nuclear reactors in the country. The requirements, however, say support can only be granted to companies focused solely on new reactor deployment; NuCore was formed to meet that requirement, Fortum officials said. Neither Fortum nor NuCore have reached any investment decisions on a nuclear project in Sweden, the announcement said.