Google’s record €13bn push into Finland has hit its first regulatory wall. Finnish authorities have ordered a halt to building work at two planned data centres, in Muhos and Kajaani, after more than 300 hectares of forest were cleared. The investment was announced less than a month ago and the company called it its largest single investment in Europe.
What the regulator found
The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) said preparatory work went ahead without a mandatory environmental impact assessment at one site. The Guardian reported that Tuike Finland Oy, the company acting for Google, felled 330 hectares in Muhos, and that logging in Kajaani reportedly covered just under 200 hectares. The assessment is ongoing and expected to finish later this year.
Tommi Muilu, head of environment at LVV, listed the work: removal of trees and topsoil, site roads, storage areas and changes to ditches. “In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts,” he said, adding that identifying those impacts is a key aim of the assessment procedure.
The agency told the company to suspend such measures by 23 October at the latest. Tuike Finland has until 14 October to explain itself and set out how it will proceed. LVV said it could begin enforcement proceedings, and consider a fine, if the company does not comply.
Google’s response
Google said it had “fallen short of our own high standards in this instance” and would follow the agency’s guidance. It said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, ran nature surveys and put in place measures to protect areas of high environmental value. Its landscaping and biodiversity plans include tree planting across 130 hectares at Muhos.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation was blunt. Its chief operating officer, Tapani Veistola, called it a “systemic problem” and said Muhos was “not a forest any more. It is a sand area.” He blamed an overheated market that pushes companies to move fast, plus a lack of expertise in small municipalities.
The wider investment
Google plans to invest at least €13bn in Finland over 2027 and 2028, with new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala and more spending at its existing Hamina site. The company said construction would support more than 37,000 jobs and add an average of €3.6bn a year to the Finnish economy. It also signed a 22-year power purchase agreement with Fortum covering up to half the capacity of the Loviisa nuclear plant, which Fortum said would help keep the plant running until 2050.
Finland’s cool climate and low-carbon electricity make it attractive to data centre developers, since lower temperatures reduce the energy needed to cool servers.
Sources
- Finland orders halt to work on two Google data centres
- Google told to halt work on datacentres in Finland over environmental concerns
