Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Finland Orders Google to Halt Major Site Work at Two Data Centers

Preserving the environmental impact assessment process by stopping site‑altering work could delay parts of Google’s multi‑billion euro AI buildout.

Shutterstock / AV-Ylanne
Image
Image
An aerial view shows the site where Google's data centre is set to be built in Muhos, Finland, on September 29, 2026. In the northern Finnish town of Muhos, 36-year-old farmer Joni Pitkanen is preparing for life with a new neighbour -- just kilometers away tech giant Google is planning to build new data centres. The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland over the next two years -- the US tech giant's single biggest investment in Europe. A few kilometers down the gravel road that passes by Pitkanen's farm, the forest has already been cut down on land acquired by Google, with excavators now clearing the ground and rumbling trucks shuttling back and forth to the construction area located next to major power lines. (Photo by Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP)

Overview

  • Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) told Tuike Finland Oy to suspend major site‑altering activities at Muhos and Kajaani, set Oct. 14 as the deadline for a written explanation, and required work to stop no later than Oct. 23.
  • The suspension targets actions that permanently change the land, including tree removal, topsoil stripping, excavation, earthmoving, ditching, and construction of roads and storage areas because LVV said such work can undermine an environmental impact assessment.
  • Company filings and reporting show roughly 330 hectares were felled or prepared at Muhos and about 200 hectares at Kajaani‑Otanmäki, figures that cross Finland’s statutory thresholds for triggering a full EIA.
  • Google acknowledged it fell short of its standards, said it acted under the Forestry Act and ran nature surveys, and pledged biodiversity measures including planting trees across 130 hectares at Muhos while it works with regulators.
  • The case shows that having grid access and long‑term energy deals does not remove other permitting steps, and LVV’s move — initially seeking voluntary compliance but able to impose fines — could set a precedent that slows or reshapes large hyperscaler projects in Finland and Europe.