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Finnish regulators have instructed Google to suspend construction-related activities at two planned data centre sites after discovering that extensive forest clearance had taken place without the required environmental scrutiny. The Finnish Supervisory Agency, known by its Finnish acronym LVV, announced the order this week, marking a significant setback for what Google has described as its largest single investment in Europe.
The sites in question are located in Muhos and Kajaani, two municipalities in northern and central Finland that form part of Google's sweeping expansion plans across the Nordic country. The suspension order specifically targets preparatory work that has already altered the landscape, including the felling of trees, the stripping of topsoil, the building of access roads and storage areas, and modifications to drainage ditches across more than 300 hectares of forest.
According to Tommi Muilu, who heads the environment division at LVV, the work proceeded without a mandatory environmental impact assessment, which Finnish law requires for projects of this scale and nature. The agency has given Tuike Finland, the company responsible for carrying out Google's data centre development, until 14 October to submit a formal explanation and outline how it intends to proceed. If the company fails to comply with the demand, LVV has indicated it could escalate the matter through enforcement proceedings.
The suspension must remain in effect by 23 October, and the order covers any measures that would "significantly alter the environment," according to the agency's statement. This effectively freezes further site preparation until the environmental review process is properly addressed.
Google responded to the regulatory action with a statement acknowledging that it had not met its own expectations. "We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance," the company told the BBC. Google also said it had "acted in good faith under the Forestry Act," had conducted nature surveys, and had implemented measures intended to protect areas of high environmental value.
The company further noted that it is continuing its long-term work in the region and is advancing landscaping and biodiversity plans, including a commitment to plant trees across 130 hectares at the Muhos site. That replanting pledge, however, has not satisfied critics who argue that the original forest ecosystem cannot simply be replaced by newly planted saplings.
Environmental groups had raised alarms before the regulatory intervention. Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, told AFP that "nature sites which should be preserved" had been felled. The organisation had previously urged authorities to halt work while environmental requirements were examined, arguing that the clearance threatened valuable habitats that would take decades to regenerate, if they could recover at all.
The timing of the suspension is particularly awkward for Google, coming less than a month after the tech giant unveiled a record €13bn investment package for Finland, covering the years 2027 and 2028. The plan includes new data centres in Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala, alongside additional investment in Google's existing facility in Hamina, which has been operational for several years and is already one of the company's key European infrastructure hubs.
Google has framed the Finnish expansion as essential to meeting growing demand for its services, including Search, Maps, and its artificial intelligence assistant Gemini. The company has also emphasised the economic benefits, stating that the construction phase alone will support more than 37,000 jobs and contribute an average of €3.6bn annually to Finland's economy during the build-out period.
As part of the broader investment, Google signed a 22-year power purchasing agreement with Finnish energy company Fortum. The deal covers up to half the capacity of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, and Fortum has said the arrangement will help sustain the plant's operations until 2050. The agreement underscores the massive electricity requirements of modern data centres, particularly those running AI workloads, which consume far more power than traditional cloud computing tasks.
Finland has become an increasingly attractive destination for data centre developers, thanks to its cool climate and low-carbon electricity grid. Lower ambient temperatures reduce the energy needed to cool rows of servers, cutting both costs and emissions. The country's nuclear and renewable energy mix further strengthens its appeal for companies seeking to decarbonise their digital infrastructure.
However, the suspension order highlights the tensions that can arise when rapid technological expansion intersects with environmental protections and local land-use regulations. Finnish law requires thorough environmental impact assessments for large-scale projects, and the LVV's intervention suggests that Google's development partner may have moved too quickly through the preparatory phase without completing the necessary paperwork or consultations.
The case also raises questions about how multinational technology companies manage compliance across different regulatory environments. While Google has pledged to follow the agency's guidance and adjust its approach, the incident could prompt closer scrutiny of other planned data centre projects in the region, both by regulators and by environmental organisations that have grown more vigilant about the ecological footprint of digital infrastructure.
For now, work at the Muhos and Kajaani sites remains paused. Tuike Finland's response, due by 14 October, will determine whether the projects can resume under modified conditions or whether the dispute escalates into formal enforcement action. Google's broader €13bn commitment to Finland remains in place, but the timeline for at least two of its flagship data centres now hinges on resolving environmental compliance issues that company officials admit fell short of their own stated standards.
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