Google · Regulation and law · Data centers and energy
Finland halts work on two Google data centers after more than 500 hectares were cleared without an environmental assessment
On October 6, Finland’s supervisory agency LVV ordered Tuike Finland, the company representing Google, to stop immediately, and by October 23 at the latest, all preparatory work that significantly alters the environment at two planned data center sites in Muhos and Kajaani. Local reports put the cleared or prepared forest at about 330 hectares in Muhos and close to 200 in Kajaani. Finnish law requires an environmental impact assessment when more than 200 hectares of forest is permanently removed. Google said: “We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance.”
Sources
- Lupa- ja valvontavirasto (LVV), “Lupa- ja valvontavirasto kehottaa Tuike Finland Oy:tä keskeyttämään Muhoksen ja Kajaanin datakeskushankkeiden valmistelutoimet”, (lvv.fi)
- Yle, “Google: ”Emme yltäneet tavoitteisiin” – viranomainen laittoi datakeskustyömaat jäihin Muhoksella ja Kajaanissa”, (yle.fi)
- Yle News, “Google halts work on data centres as Finnish police probe suspected illegal logging”, (yle.fi)
- CNBC, “Google ordered to halt work on two data centers in ‘Texas of Europe’”, (cnbc.com)
About this story
This story was posted on Instagram by @jarrus.tech on Oct. 8, 2026.
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This story in Turkish: Finlandiya, çevre değerlendirmesi yapılmadan 500 hektardan fazla arazi temizlendiği için Google’ın iki veri merkezi inşaatını durdurdu
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