Finland orders halt to work on Google data centre sites over environmental concerns

Finland’s environmental authority has ordered work stopped on two Google data centre sites until compulsory environmental impact assessments are completed, Al Jazeera reports.

The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) told Google’s representative company, Tuike Finland, to “immediately suspend, and no later than 23 October 2026, all preparatory measures that would significantly alter the environment” at planned sites in Muhos and Kajaani. LVV has been investigating whether Tuike Finland cleared hundreds of hectares of forest without a mandatory environmental impact assessment, with the agency’s Tommi Muilu saying trees were removed, topsoil stripped, and site roads and storage areas constructed.

Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, told AFP that “nature sites which should be preserved” had been logged, with more than 300 hectares (741 acres) deforested. Tuike Finland must explain itself by 14 October or face enforcement proceedings.

Google spokesman Sondre Ronander acknowledged the company’s shortcomings and said it would “study the LVV’s findings and follow their guidance”, adding Google was advancing landscaping and biodiversity plans including tree planting across 130 hectares (53 acres) at Muhos.

The order comes weeks after Google announced a €13bn ($14.6bn) investment in Finnish digital infrastructure for AI, its largest ever in Europe, including a 22-year deal for up to half the energy output of the Loviisa nuclear plant.