Finland Orders Google to Stop Forest Clearing at Two Data Centre Sites Until Environmental Reviews Finish
The licensing agency says tree felling, topsoil stripping and road building at Muhos and Kajaani must stop by 23 October, and police are looking at a complaint over the Muhos work.
Outspoken Digest Technology Desk
Friday, October 9, 2026/3 min read
A big piece of Google's European expansion has run into a regulator in the Finnish forest. Finland's Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) has ordered Google's local subsidiary, Tuike Finland, to halt preparatory work at two planned data centre sites, Muhos and Kajaani, until environmental impact assessments for both projects are complete, Yle reported on 8 October.
Google said it had "fallen short of our own high standards in this instance" and that it intends to comply in full.
What exactly has been stopped?
According to The Next Web, the order covers tree felling, topsoil removal, digging, quarrying, crushing, soil movement, ditching, and the building of site roads and storage areas. Planning, measurements, soil surveys and other minor, easily reversible work can continue. Work with a significant environmental effect must stop immediately and in any case by 23 October, and the agency can follow up with enforcement, including a conditional fine. Tuike has until 14 October to explain itself in writing.
The agency's environment head, Tommi Muilu, said the measures change the environment and cause impacts that the assessment procedure exists to weigh. Finnish law requires such an assessment for permanent land-use changes covering large continuous areas of forest.
How much forest has gone?
Public information cited by the agency indicated that about 300 hectares of forest had been lost at Muhos, The Next Web reports. All Things Nordic puts the cleared or prepared area at about 330 hectares at Muhos, in North Ostrobothnia, out of a project area of about 571 hectares with nine data centre buildings planned. At Kajaani-Otanmäki, in Kainuu, it says just under 200 hectares have been prepared out of about 405, with eight buildings planned. The numbers vary by outlet and are preliminary.
Yle understands that the agency began investigating after public suspicions of illegal logging. Iltalehti reported that police have opened a preliminary investigation into the Muhos work, following a request filed on 2 October by a private individual, and are assessing whether there is enough evidence for a pre-trial investigation. No offence has been established.
What does Google say?
The Next Web quotes Google spokesperson Sondre Ronander as saying the company acted in good faith under the Forestry Act and carried out nature surveys. He said Google will follow the agency's guidance and plant trees across 130 hectares at Muhos. All Things Nordic adds that Tuike argued its preparatory work followed guidance from municipal authorities, while the agency judged the changes large enough to need a full assessment.
Others were less measured. Hanna Halmeenpää, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, said loggers had cut nature sites that should have been preserved. Environment minister Sari Multala has said she expects the projects to be delayed and called it a serious matter if the company and its subcontractors acted as claimed. Kajaani's mayor, Terho Savolainen, told Yle that the preparation and permitting phase had not gone entirely as expected.
What happens next?
The work belongs to the €13 billion investment Google announced in September, which also covers Vaala and the existing Hamina data centre. Hamina is not affected, and The Next Web says Google calls the programme its largest single investment in Europe. Local plans in both towns also face appeals in the administrative court, and tree felling needs a separate permit.
The first date to watch is 14 October, when Tuike's explanation is due, followed by the 23 October cut-off. All Things Nordic says the assessments are expected to progress later this year, which means the environmental reviews, rather than the construction schedule, will now set the pace.
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