Finland orders halt to work on Google's data center sites

HELSINKI

An aerial view shows the site where Google's data centre is set to be built in Muhos, Finland, on September 29, 2026 (AFP Photo)

A Finnish authority on Oct. 6 ordered work on two of Google's data center sites in the country halted until mandatory environmental impact assessments have been completed.

The U.S. tech giant announced in September a 13-billion-euro ($15 billion) investment in digital infrastructure Finland over the next two years to power its AI ambitions.

Google has called the data center projects in the municipalities of Muhos, Vaala, Kajaani and Hamina its single biggest investment in Europe.

But the Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) said it had demanded that Tuike Finland, a company representing Google, "immediately suspend, and no later than Oct. 23, 2026, all preparatory measures that would significantly alter the environment in connection with the planned data centre projects in Muhos and Kajaani."

The agency has been investigating whether Tuike Finland cleared hundreds of hectares of forest in Muhos and Kajaani without a mandatory environmental impact assessment.

Tuike Finland must provide an explanation and detail how it intends to proceed by October 14.

If it fails to comply with the demand, the agency said it may initiate "enforcement proceedings."

According to the head of LVV's environment department Tommi Muilu, trees have been removed, topsoil stripped, site roads and storage areas constructed and ditches altered.