Finnish authorities have ordered Google to halt preparatory work at two artificial intelligence data center sites after the tech giant cleared an estimated 250,000 trees across hundreds of hectares of forest without completing required environmental impact assessments.
Authorities Stop Google Forest Clearings
Behind a wire fence in rural northern Finland, a vast expanse of mud now marks where a quarter of a million trees once stood. Google cleared roughly 330 hectares of forest near the town of Muhos, stripping away topsoil and leaving behind tire tracks, puddles, and mounds of earth as part of a major AI infrastructure development.
Environmental experts estimate that an additional 150,000 trees were removed at a second site in Otanmäki, bringing the total estimated timber loss across both locations to approximately 400,000 trees.
The unauthorized clearings prompted the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) to issue an order on October 6 requiring Google’s project subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, to suspend all environmentally significant preparatory work.
Tommi Muilu, Head of the Environmental Department at the agency, noted that the preparatory activities would alter the environment and cause impacts that require formal evaluation. The directive covered sites in Muhos and in Otanmäki, located in the Kajaani area, with a strict deadline of October 23 for compliance.
LVV warned that failure to comply could trigger enforcement proceedings and financial penalties.
Executives Issue Apologies Over Forestry Rules
Antti Järvinen, Google’s country manager in Finland, addressed the controversy during a media briefing after previously issuing written statements. I am extremely sorry that we are in this situation. I want to apologise for that,
Järvinen told reporters, maintaining that the subsidiary had operated according to its understanding of the regulatory framework at the time while advancing the project.
Following the directives from LVV in October, Google halted preparatory activities in Muhos and Kajaani, with Järvinen stating that the company assumed full responsibility for the situation.
on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time.
Antti Järvinen, Google’s Finland country manager
Sondre Ronander is a corporate spokesperson. He acknowledged that the tech giant had fallen short of our own high standards in this instance,
while the company pledged full cooperation with the supervisory agency’s directives and expressed intent to maintain an open dialogue.
Google maintained that it had acted in good faith under Finland’s Forestry Act and conducted preliminary nature surveys.
Displaced Wolves Enter Villages as Streams Turn Brown
The abrupt habitat destruction displaced local wildlife, with residents reporting that wolves forced out of the leveled forests began roaming into neighboring villages and raising serious safety concerns for families living nearby.
Anni Ranta, a local resident whose family has inhabited Otanmäki for generations, noted that wild animals entered the settlement after losing their natural habitat.
Pentti Korhonen, a retired wilderness guide, pointed out that the stream water turned brown after the forest was destroyed.
We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest.
Anni Ranta, Otanmäki resident
Campaigners and conservation groups also pointed to secondary environmental impacts, including brown runoff flowing from the cleared land into streams that feed the Oulujoki River.
Hanna Halmeenpää, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL), expressed astonishment at the scale of the clearance, stating that no corporate entity had previously undertaken such destruction in the country.
Local resident Aantti Jakonen criticized the corporate approach as being executed in an improper manner, while other citizens viewed the remediation plans with skepticism.
Citizens Sign Petitions Against Data Centers
The controversy unfolded against the backdrop of Google’s expansion strategy in the Nordic region. In September, the corporation announced an investment. The investment is of at least €13 billion targeting artificial intelligence infrastructure across Finland through 2027 and 2028, with specific projects planned in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala as part of a major push into European infrastructure.
The initiative also attracted commentary from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly called for the company to reconsider and build its centers inside the United States instead.
More than 96,400 citizens signed a legislative petition demanding stricter regulatory oversight for data centers, mandatory connections to electricity networks that take into account grid capacity, reserve power, and the utilization of waste heat, alongside a dedicated fee to compensate local communities for resource consumption and environmental damage.