Finland Orders Google to Halt Work on Two AI Data Centers Over Deforestation

Finland's Licensing and Supervisory Authority (LVV) has ordered Google to stop preparatory work at two planned AI data center sites, saying the company cleared land before finishing the environmental impact assessment that Finnish law requires for a project of this size. Google's local subsidiary, Tuike Finland, is the company involved.

According to Tommi Muilu, head of the environment department at LVV, the agency found trees removed, topsoil stripped, site roads built and drainage ditches altered at both sites. On October 6, LVV told Tuike Finland to stop immediately and no later than October 23.

Tuike Finland replied on October 14, saying it would comply and had halted preparatory work at both locations. On October 22, LVV went further on the Muhos site. It ordered a more detailed water-management plan, found that the drainage work there requires a permit under Finland's Water Act, and disclosed that it had filed a request for a police investigation into the Muhos project. Google's response so far includes a pledge to replant trees across 130 hectares at Muhos.

The case is a awkward moment for Finland's data center ambitions. The country has promoted itself as the "Texas of Europe" for data centers, pointing to its cold climate, cheap renewable power and political stability. Google's €13 billion commitment was meant to prove that approach worked. Instead, the company must now explain to Finnish regulators why its environmental process lagged behind its construction work, in a country whose data center strategy rests on being easy to build in.