145 data centres planned in Finland as criticism grows

Finland currently has building plans for 145 data centres, according to Yle, and 60 of those were presented in 2026 alone. If all of them were built, the electricity grid would fall far short of what they need. That shortfall is expected to push electricity prices sky-high for both companies and private individuals.

Concern about the effect on nature is also strong. It grew after it emerged that a partner of Google had felled large amounts of forest without a permit.

Over the weekend, demonstrations against the projects were held in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Jyväskylä. Roughly 3,000 people are estimated to have taken part in total.

Sakari Bister, a left-wing politician from Helsinki, commented to Yle on why he got involved. He said that, having seen what has happened in recent months, what data centres do to nature and how that irritates people, it has been important to him to make sure there is enough electricity and that the situation does not become uncontrollable.

The story shows how quickly data centre construction in Finland is running into public resistance. The number of planned projects is large relative to the grid's capacity, and worries about power prices and environmental damage have now moved people to protest in several cities.