Google has received a partial stop-work notice at two sites in Finland after an uproar over the clearing of an estimated 250,000 trees at its Muhos site.
The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority has subsequently issued a notice to Google subsidiary Tuike Finland to suspend all environmentally significant preparatory work at sites in Muhos and Kajaani until required environmental impact assessments are finished.
Earlier this month, The Guardian reported that almost 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland were felled last week, contending that the tech giant had illegally stripped the entire area to construct a data center.
Reports had emerged earlier this month that forestry work began months ago at the data center project sites, even as the environmental impact assessment was still underway.
Google is currently in the process of developing three data centers in Finland as part of its €13 billion (about $15.1 billion) investment in Finnish AI infrastructure, announced in September. The Muhos and Kajaani sites are part of this investment. It already has one operational data center in Hamina.
The move by the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority was in direct response to the actions of Google in Muhos, said Tommi Muilu, Head of the Environmental Department at the agency.
“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,” he said.
The suspension will not cover planning, measurements, soil surveys or other work which is expected to have minimal impact on the local environment. DCD has contacted Google for comment.
In a statement sent to STT earlier this month, Google’s communications manager, Michiel Sallaets, denied any illegal forestry activities. Sallaets said that the logging has been done on land owned by Google “in full accordance with the requirements of the Forestry Act.” He added that all potential profits from selective logging will be donated to local projects.
According to Finnish authorities, if Tuike Finland Oy does not comply with the notices issued for both the Muhos and Kajaani data center projects, the agency will consider initiating administrative enforcement proceedings under either applicable special legislation or the EIA Act.
In 2024, Google acquired 1,400 hectares of land in Kajaani and Muhos from state-run forest agency Metsähallitus, but did not detail plans for the sites at the time. In February of this year, it added to its Finland land portfolio again with the acquisition of 900 hectares in Vaala for a possible data center project. It is unclear what impact the issuance could have on the timelines for the data center.
The news comes as the hyperscalers have sought to back reforestation programs to enhance their sustainability credentials. Just last week, the company, through the carbon purchasing alliance Symbiosis Coalition, signed a 320,000 ton carbon removal deal with agroforestry firm Working Trees.
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