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Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority ordered work that significantly changes the environment to stop at Google-linked data center sites in Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments are completed. The Guardian reported that forests had already been cleared at both sites; Google said it would study the authority’s findings and follow its guidance. The order is temporary, and the assessments are ongoing.
Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority has ordered preparatory work that significantly changes the environment to stop at planned Google data center sites in Muhos and Kajaani until environmental impact assessments are completed. The order follows reports that extensive logging and other site work had already taken place before the assessments were finished; Google said it would review the authority’s findings and follow its guidance.
The authority, known as LVV, said on Tuesday that work at both sites must be suspended immediately and no later than October 23. The order applies to preparatory measures that significantly alter the environment, rather than stating that all activity connected with the projects must stop. Google has until the following Wednesday to provide a written explanation, according to The Guardian’s October 6 report.
The report said 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest had been felled in Muhos by Tuike Finland Oy, the company representing Google, before the environmental impact assessment was completed. In Kajaani, logging had reportedly covered just under 200 hectares (494 acres). LVV said work had also included removing trees, stripping topsoil and building access roads while the assessments remained underway.
LVV environmental department head Tommi Muilu said the work could change the environment and cause impacts that the assessment process is intended to identify and evaluate. The authority said it could consider enforcement proceedings and a fine if the company does not comply. The assessments are expected to be completed later in 2026, but the report did not say when the sites could resume work.
Forest Clearing Prompts Regulatory Halt
The order puts environmental review ahead of further site preparation at two locations in a major data center project. It also shows that regulators can intervene when construction-related activity proceeds while an assessment is still underway, even if the projects have not reached the main building phase.
The reported clearing is substantial at both sites, but the source material does not establish that every logged area was unlawfully cut or that all environmental harm has been measured. The immediate significance is narrower: Finland’s authority says certain preparatory measures must stop until the assessments are complete. That could affect the project schedule and the companies’ obligations, while the assessments may clarify what impacts require mitigation.
The dispute also points to a practical challenge for local oversight. Data center construction can require extensive land preparation, while municipal and national authorities must evaluate potential effects before work changes a site. The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation has argued that pressure to move quickly is contributing to failures at the two locations; that is the association’s explanation, not a finding stated by LVV.
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A €13 Billion Northern Finland Project
The planned facilities in Muhos and Kajaani are part of a reported €13 billion investment across multiple sites in northern Finland. Google is pursuing the project amid strong demand for data center capacity to support online infrastructure. The Guardian’s account identifies Tuike Finland Oy as the company representing Google in connection with the Muhos work.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation criticized the clearing at both locations. Its chief operating officer, Tapani Veistola, described the situation as a possible “systemic problem” and said the Muhos site was “not a forest any more. It is a sand area.” Those are the association’s descriptions; the authority’s order focuses on suspending specified measures until the assessment process is complete.
Veistola attributed the problem in part to what he called an “overheated” market for data centers and a lack of expertise in municipalities. The report does not provide an independent assessment of those causes. Google, for its part, said it had conducted nature surveys and taken steps to protect high-value areas, and pointed to plans for landscaping and biodiversity work, including tree planting across 130 hectares (321 acres) at Muhos.
“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.”
— Tommi Muilu, head of the environmental department at Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority
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Assessment Findings Still Pending
The order is temporary, and the environmental impact assessments are still in progress. The source report does not include their findings, specify the full range of possible environmental effects, or say whether regulators have determined that particular laws were breached. It also does not establish the exact amount of forest cleared at Kajaani, describing the logged area as just under 200 hectares.
The headline claim that Google is illegally cutting forest goes beyond what the supplied reporting establishes. LVV ordered a pause because the assessments were incomplete and identified preparatory work that it said could change the environment. Google said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act. The report does not describe a final legal ruling on whether the forest clearing itself was illegal.
It is also unclear how much work can continue under the order, whether the company will provide its written explanation by the deadline, or whether LVV will impose a fine or other enforcement measure. The report does not give a revised construction timetable for either data center.
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Written Response and Completed Reviews
Google is expected to submit a written explanation to LVV by the deadline reported as the following Wednesday. The company said it would study the authority’s findings and follow its guidance. LVV’s stated next step, if Google does not comply with the suspension, is to consider enforcement proceedings and a fine.
The environmental impact assessments are expected to be completed later in 2026. Their findings should provide a clearer account of potential effects and what steps may be required before the projects proceed. Until then, the immediate issue is whether the specified environment-altering work stops at both sites and how the regulator responds to the company’s explanation.
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Key Questions
LVV ordered a suspension of preparatory measures that significantly change the environment at the Muhos and Kajaani sites until environmental impact assessments are completed. The report does not characterize the order as a ban on every project-related activity.
How much forest was reportedly cleared?
The Guardian reported that 330 hectares (815 acres) had been felled in Muhos. It said logging in Kajaani covered just under 200 hectares (494 acres).
Has a regulator ruled that Google illegally cut the forest?
The supplied report describes a temporary work suspension tied to incomplete assessments. It does not report a final ruling that the forest clearing itself was illegal. Google said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act.
What has Google said about the order?
Google said it understood the concerns, acknowledged that it had fallen short of its own standards, and would review LVV’s findings and follow its guidance. It also cited nature surveys, protections for high-value areas and plans for tree planting at Muhos.
When might the environmental assessments be completed?
The report said the assessments were expected to be completed later in 2026. Their findings and any subsequent regulator decisions could affect when work proceeds, but no revised construction timetable was provided.
Source: hn
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