Google told to halt work on Finnish data centers after clearing an estimated 250,000 trees before environmental review was done

Finland's Licensing and Supervision Authority ordered Google subsidiary Tuike Finland to suspend all environmentally significant preparatory work at its Muhos and Kajaani data center sites until required environmental impact assessments are completed, after an estimated 250,000 trees were cleared at Muhos, according to The Guardian. The two sites are part of Google's €13 billion (about $15.1 billion) investment in Finnish AI infrastructure announced in September, which Google called its largest single investment in Europe. Tommi Muilu, Head of the Environmental Department at the agency, said the preparatory measures "will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure.

Google has spent more than a decade pointing to Finland as proof that a data center can be a good neighbor. Now Finland’s regulators say it moved too fast on the next ones. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority issued https://lvv.fi/-/lupa-ja-valvontavirasto-kehottaa-tuike-finland-oy-ta-keskeyttamaan-muhoksen-ja-kajaanin-datakeskushankkeiden-valmistelutoimet a notice that requires Google subsidiary Tuike Finland to suspend all environmentally significant preparatory work at sites in Muhos and Kajaani, until required environmental impact assessments are finished. The move follows the clearing of an estimated https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/oct/22/finland-google-felling-trees-datacentre 250,000 trees at Muhos, according to The Guardian . The two sites are part of Google’s €13 billion about $15.1 billion investment https://fortune.com/2026/09/10/europe-data-center-capital-google-microsoft-tiktok-30-2-billion/ in Finnish AI infrastructure, announced in September and billed by the company as its largest single investment in Europe. Google already operates https://datacenters.google/locations/hamina-finland/ a data center in the Finnish town of Hamina. “This is Google’s largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland’s leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure,” Google said in a statement https://www.googlecloudpresscorner.com/2026-09-09-Google-Deepens-Commitment-to-Finland-with-Two-Year-EUR13-Billion-investment-in-AI-Infrastructure in September regarding its $15.1 billion plan. The company emphasized “what is possible through strong partnerships to create long-term community value and world-class environmental sustainability.” But Finland disagrees with how the company has handled its data center buildout. “In the opinion of the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority, extensive preparatory measures have already been taken in the project areas based on the currently available reports, such as the removal of trees, the stripping of topsoil, the construction of construction site roads and storage areas, changes to ditches and culverts, and stormwater arrangements. In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure,” Tommi Muilu, Head of the Environmental Department at the agency, said in a press release https://lvv.fi/-/lupa-ja-valvontavirasto-kehottaa-tuike-finland-oy-ta-keskeyttamaan-muhoksen-ja-kajaanin-datakeskushankkeiden-valmistelutoimet . The suspension doesn’t cover planning, measurements, soil surveys or other work with minor impacts that can be easily reversed, the agency said. Google did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune . The pushback is awkward for a government that went out of its way to land the project. “Finland is an attractive destination for investments, and attracting further investment remains a top priority,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in Google’s announcement https://www.googlecloudpresscorner.com/2026-09-09-Google-Deepens-Commitment-to-Finland-with-Two-Year-EUR13-Billion-investment-in-AI-Infrastructure in September. “Google’s decision is a clear testament to our strengths.” Not every Finn agrees. More than 96,000 people have signed https://www.kansalaisaloite.fi/fi/aloite/17997 a citizens’ initiative on the government’s kansalaisaloite.fi platform calling for tighter control of data centers, including a “data center fee.” The initiative asks lawmakers to make sure data centers “do not endanger security of supply or negatively affect the price and adequacy of electricity for consumers and other industries,” following the Irish model of regulating grid access. It also calls for a fee so that “society and local communities are compensated for the environmental damage and resource consumption caused by operations.” That’s a different picture from the one Google has painted in Finland. In 2009, the company bought https://www.reuters.com/article/markets/google-plans-data-centre-at-old-finnish-paper-mill-idUSLC409217/ a former paper mill in Hamina and turned it into a data center that opened in 2011. It’s cooled with seawater from the Gulf of Finland instead of conventional water cooling. Google also sends the site’s waste heat to local homes and businesses, and estimates https://www.gstatic.com/marketing-cms/8d/3e/6c26980846d78de31b6e254c3cc2/2024-impact-study-finland.pdf that heat recovery will cover up to 80% of Hamina’s district heating network’s annual demand. In September, it signed https://www.fortum.com/media/2026/09/inside-information-fortum-and-google-partner-drive-sustainable-growth-finland-sign-nuclear-power-purchase-agreement a 22-year deal with Fortum https://fortune.com/company/fortum/ to help extend the life of the Loviisa nuclear plant, which Google says https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/infrastructure-and-cloud/global-network/google-ai-commitment-to-finland/ supplies about 10% of Finland’s electricity. breaks the traditional barrier between audience and newsroom. The show transforms Fortune Daily Fortune ’s trusted reporting into actionable, conversational, and entertaining insights for an emerging class of business leaders. Watch here.