# Finland tells Google to stop clearing forest for its data centres

URL: https://ai-pulse.aglaganova.com/blog/finland-tells-google-to-stop-clearing-forest-for-its-data-centres
Published: 2026-10-10
Author: Roman Aglaganov, Full-stack developer
Category: Policy
Region: Europe
Tags: energy, regulation

> A Finnish regulator has ordered Google’s local company to halt preparatory work at two data centre sites until environmental assessments are done, after hundreds of hectares of forest were cleared. Google says it fell short.

![Illustration: a forest of small triangles with a cleared rectangle holding two server racks and a stop sign](https://ai-pulse.aglaganova.com/api/media/file/finland-1.png)

In September, Google announced a €13 billion investment in Finnish digital infrastructure over two years, which it calls its single biggest investment in Europe. In October, it was told to stop digging.

## The order

Finland’s Supervisory Agency (LVV), which oversees environmental rules, ordered Tuike Finland, the Google company behind the projects, to suspend by 23 October all preparatory work that would significantly alter the environment at its planned sites in Muhos and Kajaani. The suspension lasts until the mandatory environmental impact assessments for both sites are complete.

The agency has been investigating whether hundreds of hectares of forest were cleared without that assessment. According to its environment chief, trees were removed, topsoil stripped, site roads and storage areas built and ditches altered. The chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation told AFP that nature sites that should have been preserved had been logged in a cleared area of more than 300 hectares. Tuike Finland has until 14 October to explain itself, and Yle reports that police have opened a preliminary inquiry at the Muhos site.

Google said it had “fallen short of our own high standards” and would comply with the order, adding that its plans include replanting trees across 130 hectares at Muhos.

## Why it matters

The Nordics attract data centres for good reasons: cool air, clean electricity and stable grids. But AI builders now face the same scrutiny as any heavy industry. Finnish opposition parties have called for a national permit system so data centres do not cause power shortages or push up prices. The lesson travels well beyond Finland: the race to build AI infrastructure fast does not exempt anyone from the ordinary rules about forests, water and power.

## Sources

- [Al Jazeera (AFP and Reuters): Finland orders halt to work on Google data centre sites](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/7/finland-orders-halt-to-work-on-google-data-sites-over-environment-concerns)
- [Yle News: Google halts work on data centres as Finnish police probe suspected illegal logging](https://yle.fi/a/74-20250446)