Google will buy half the electricity from one of Finland’s nuclear power plants

谷歌将购买芬兰核电站一半的电力

Google will buy up to half the electricity produced by one of Finland’s nuclear power plants as part of a record €13bn (£11bn; $15bn) investment in the country’s AI infrastructure, the company announced. 谷歌宣布，作为其在芬兰人工智能基础设施领域创纪录的 130 亿欧元（约合 110 亿英镑或 150 亿美元）投资计划的一部分，谷歌将购买芬兰一座核电站所产电力的一半。

The US tech giant said the package would fund three new data centres, expand an existing site and support energy projects to power growing demand for AI services. 这家美国科技巨头表示，该投资计划将用于建设三个新的数据中心，扩建一个现有站点，并支持能源项目，以满足对人工智能服务日益增长的需求。

“This is Google’s largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland’s leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure,” the company said on Wednesday. 谷歌周三表示：“这是谷歌在欧洲最大的单笔投资，也证明了芬兰在负责任地构建人工智能基础设施方面的领先地位。”

“Google’s decision is a clear testament to our strengths,” Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a statement. 芬兰总理佩特里·奥尔波（Petteri Orpo）在一份声明中表示：“谷歌的决定清楚地证明了我们的实力。”

As part of the deal, Google signed a 22-year contract with Finnish utility Fortum to buy up to 50% of the output from the Loviisa nuclear power plant. 作为协议的一部分，谷歌与芬兰公用事业公司富腾（Fortum）签署了一份为期 22 年的合同，将购买洛维萨（Loviisa）核电站高达 50% 的电力输出。

Earlier this week, TikTok announced a $1bn investment in Finland to build a new data centre in Kouvola, pointing to the country’s “strong digital infrastructure, clean energy mix, robust data governance and skilled tech talent”. Finland has emerged as an attractive location for data centres because of its cool climate, plentiful low-carbon electricity and relatively uncongested power grid. The colder temperatures can reduce the energy needed to cool facilities packed with computer servers. 本周早些时候，TikTok 宣布在芬兰投资 10 亿美元，在科沃拉（Kouvola）建设一个新的数据中心，并指出该国拥有“强大的数字基础设施、清洁的能源结构、稳健的数据治理和熟练的技术人才”。芬兰因其凉爽的气候、充足的低碳电力和相对不拥挤的电网，已成为数据中心极具吸引力的选址地。较低的气温可以减少冷却装满计算机服务器的设施所需的能源。

Technology companies are racing to secure power supplies as the AI boom drives demand for vast networks of data centres. 随着人工智能热潮推动了对庞大数据中心网络的需求，科技公司正竞相确保电力供应。

The Google investment is expected to support more than 37,000 jobs during construction and boost Finland’s GDP by €3.6bn a year, according to Google. Construction is set to take place in 2027 and 2028. 据谷歌称，这项投资预计将在建设期间支持超过 37,000 个就业岗位，并使芬兰的 GDP 每年增加 36 亿欧元。建设工作定于 2027 年和 2028 年进行。

“The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research and development,” Orpo added. “Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties.” 奥尔波补充道：“数据经济的价值远不止于直接投资，它还能刺激创新、研究和开发。深化我们与谷歌的合作将为双方带来持久的利益。”

Google will build new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, while expanding its existing facility in Hamina, which it established after converting a former paper mill in 2009. 谷歌将在卡亚尼（Kajaani）、穆霍斯（Muhos）和瓦萨（Vaala）建设新的数据中心，同时扩建其位于哈米纳（Hamina）的现有设施，该设施是谷歌在 2009 年将一家前造纸厂改造后建立的。

The infrastructure will help support products such as its AI chatbot Gemini, alongside services including Search, Maps and YouTube. 这些基础设施将有助于支持其人工智能聊天机器人 Gemini 等产品，以及搜索、地图和 YouTube 等服务。

Google said the investments also covered “clean energy projects, and dedicated nature and community funds to support local biodiversity, education, research, and workforce development”. 谷歌表示，这些投资还涵盖了“清洁能源项目，以及用于支持当地生物多样性、教育、研究和劳动力发展的专项自然与社区基金”。

“Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland,” said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google. Alphabet 和谷歌总裁兼首席投资官露丝·波拉特（Ruth Porat）表示：“谷歌很自豪能加深我们在芬兰的根基。”

“This investment underscores Google’s commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives,” she added. 她补充道：“这项投资彰显了谷歌负责任地扩大业务的承诺，我们将技术基础设施的扩张与新能源容量、电网升级以及能源负担能力倡议相结合。”

Earlier this year, Google’s parent company Alphabet raised its global spending plans to as much as $205bn as it sought to expand computing capacity for AI services. 今年早些时候，谷歌母公司 Alphabet 将其全球支出计划提高至 2050 亿美元，旨在扩大人工智能服务的计算能力。

The agreement with Fortum provides long-term financial certainty for the Loviisa plant, which currently generates about 10% of Finland’s electricity. 与富腾达成的协议为洛维萨核电站提供了长期的财务确定性，该核电站目前约占芬兰电力供应的 10%。

Fortum said Google’s commitment would support an investment programme aimed at extending the life of the nuclear station and increasing its generating capacity. 富腾表示，谷歌的承诺将支持一项旨在延长该核电站使用寿命并提高其发电能力的投资计划。