Finland Orders Google to Halt Data Center Work After 250,000 Trees Cleared

Finland's regulators have ordered Google to stop environmentally significant preparatory work at two data center sites after an estimated 250,000 trees were cleared at Muhos before required environmental reviews were completed. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority issued a notice requiring Google subsidiary Tuike Finland to suspend all such work at Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments are finished, according to The Guardian's estimate of the felled trees.

The two sites anchor Google's €13 billion (about $15.1 billion) investment in Finnish AI infrastructure, announced in September and billed by the company as its largest single investment in Europe. Google already operates a data center in the Finnish town of Hamina.

"This is Google's largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland's leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure," Google said in a September statement on the plan. The company emphasized "what is possible through strong partnerships to create long-term community value and world-class environmental sustainability."

What does the regulator's order actually cover?

Plenty. Tommi Muilu, Head of the Environmental Department at the agency, laid out the scale of work already done in a press release: "In the opinion of the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority, extensive preparatory measures have already been taken in the project areas based on the currently available reports, such as the removal of trees, the stripping of topsoil, the construction of construction site roads and storage areas, changes to ditches and culverts, and stormwater arrangements. In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure."

The suspension carves out low-impact activity. Planning, measurements, soil surveys and other easily reversible work can continue, the agency said.

Google did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune.

Why is this politically awkward?

The pushback lands on a government that courted the project. "Finland is an attractive destination for investments, and attracting further investment remains a top priority," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in Google's September announcement. "Google's decision is a clear testament to our strengths."

Public sentiment is more divided. More than 96,000 people have signed a citizens' initiative on the government's kansalaisaloite.fi platform demanding tighter control of data centers. The initiative calls for a "data center fee" so that "society and local communities are compensated for the environmental damage and resource consumption caused by operations." It also asks lawmakers to ensure data centers "do not endanger security of supply or negatively affect the price and adequacy of electricity for consumers and other industries," following the Irish model of regulating grid access.

How does this square with Google's Finnish track record?

For more than a decade, Google has pointed to Finland as proof a data center can be a good neighbor. In 2009, the company bought a former paper mill in Hamina and converted it into a data center that opened in 2011. The site is cooled with seawater from the Gulf of Finland instead of conventional water cooling. Google sends its waste heat to local homes and businesses, and estimates heat recovery will cover up to 80% of Hamina's district heating network's annual demand.

The company doubled down on its Finnish energy ties in September, signing a 22-year deal with Fortum to help extend the life of the Loviisa nuclear plant — a facility Google says supplies about 10% of Finland's electricity.

Now the regulator has drawn a line between that showcase legacy and the new buildout. How Google and the Finnish government resolve the EIA standoff at Muhos and Kajaani will test whether the country's courtship of hyperscale AI investment can coexist with the permitting discipline it enforced this week.