Overview
- Investigative reporting on Thursday found Google’s contractor cleared about 330 hectares at the Muhos site, removing roughly 250,000 trees and bringing combined estimates for two sites to about 400,000 trees.
- Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) has ordered Tuike Finland, Google’s local unit, to stop environmentally significant land work at Muhos and Kajaani and has opened a formal inquiry while it reviews whether mandatory environmental impact assessments were required and followed.
- Field observations and satellite images show the clearing included topsoil removal, road-building and drainage changes that residents say have caused muddy runoff into waterways linked to the Oulujoki River.
- Google’s Finland country manager apologized and the company has proposed biodiversity measures including planting on 130 hectares, but experts note new plantings do not immediately replace mature forest, soil structure or hydrological impacts.
- The dispute ties into wider questions about how fast hyperscalers can clear land before formal EIAs are completed and could influence permitting, enforcement and timelines for large data-center investments across Finland and the EU.