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Finland Halts Work at Google's Muhos and Kajaani Data Centers

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5 sources tracking this story
Google AI Infrastructure ai-business

TL;DR

  • Finland's Environment Minister invoked statutory authority to halt Google by name, turning a regulatory agency finding into executive-branch enforcement on record.
  • Google cleared 330 hectares at Muhos and nearly 200 at Kajaani before completing required EIAs, violating environmental law separately from forestry rules it did follow.
  • LVV's October 23 deadline is backed by threatened enforcement proceedings, giving the order immediate financial stakes against a €13B expansion commitment.

Finland's Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) ordered Tuike Finland Oy, Google's local subsidiary, to suspend land-altering work at two planned data center sites, Muhos in North Ostrobothnia and Kajaani in Kainuu, until environmental impact assessments are complete. Around 330 hectares had already been cleared at Muhos and just under 200 hectares at Kajaani, CNBC reported.

The order covers tree removal, excavation, blasting, crushing, soil removal, drainage work and the construction of site roads and storage areas. Tuike must stop the specified work immediately and no later than 23 October, and submit a written explanation by October 14.

A Google spokesperson told CNBC: "We understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance." The company "acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, and ran nature surveys and put in place measures to protect high-value areas," the spokesperson said, adding that Google would follow LVV's guidance.

The sites are part of Google's €13 billion Finnish buildout, the company's largest single investment in Europe, with three new data centers planned in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala alongside an expansion at Hamina. If Tuike does not comply, LVV said it would consider enforcement proceedings and a possible fine.

What others are reporting

Coverage cluster as of 24h after publish

  1. Euronews Read →

    Quotes Finland's Environment Minister directly on legal non-compliance and documents LVV's October 23 enforcement deadline with explicit threat of proceedings for non-compliance.

    All companies operating in Finland must comply with the law. In this case, that has not happened.
  2. Al Jazeera Read →

    Contextualizes the halt in Finland's energy politics; opposition parties are calling for a national permit system after hyperscaler buildouts raised grid capacity and price concerns.

    Nature sites which should be preserved had been logged in a deforested area of more than 300 hectares.
  3. TechTarget Read →

    Expert legal framing: EIA requirements operate independently from forestry rules, and LVV's intervention at this investment scale is flagged as highly unusual, amplifying the precedent.

    What you can't do is clear 300 hectares and call it anticipation.
  4. GuruFocus Read →

    Adds investor-side framing: halt follows Alphabet's €15B Finnish AI commitment, with 35 institutional investors trimming GOOGL and $131.5M in insider selling over the prior 12 months.

Originally reported by cnbc.com

Read the original article →

Original headline: Finland Orders Google to Halt Work at Two Data Centers Over Missed Environmental Reviews