Finnish environmentalists accuse Google of clearing over 300 hectares of forest for data centers before environmental assessment

According to the organization, more than 300 hectares have been cleared, writes Shazoo. Finland's supervisory authority has launched an investigation, Google calls its actions lawful.

The gist in brief

• The sites are located in Muhos and Kajaani in northern Finland. The forest was cleared for two Google data centers.
• For projects larger than 200 hectares, Finland requires an environmental impact assessment (known in Finnish as YVA), according to Kaleva.
• The Nature Conservation Association is asking to suspend the work until the investigation is completed. The Permitting and Supervision Agency (LVV) has sent inquiries to Google's local subsidiary, Tuike Finland.
• Google states that the logging complied with forestry legislation and that the surveys covered the entire area.

What Google is accused of

The Finnish Nature Conservation Association claims that logging went on for months before the impact assessment was completed. At the Muhos site (the Lepponiemi plot), more than 300 hectares have been cleared, reports the Finnish newspaper Kaleva. In Kajaani (the Otanmäki plot), logging began in January, and earthworks and blasting in August; the assessment for this site has not yet been completed.

According to the organization's analysis of satellite imagery, areas of forest at the Muhos site that were supposed to remain protected have been destroyed. MTV Uutiset mentions four conservation areas. For now, this data comes from the environmentalists themselves.

The association's chair, Hanna Halmeenpää, stated that this is either serious incompetence on the part of Google's Finnish subsidiary or a blatant disregard for Finland's laws. According to her, in the organization's 86-year history, they cannot recall a similar case.

What may be harmed

The assessment documents for Muhos mention waterfowl nesting sites. The Kajaani site crosses the migration routes of forest reindeer.

Google's position

Company representative Michelle Sallaets stated that the trees were felled in full compliance with the requirements of the forestry law, and that environmental studies covered the entire area. The company added that when choosing sites, it tried to avoid particularly valuable natural areas.

Scale of the project

Google plans to invest about 13 billion euros in data centers for artificial intelligence tasks in Finland. Publications call this the company's largest single investment in Europe.

There is no final assessment of violations yet: the results of the supervisory authority's investigation have not been published.

Data centers in other countries

Environmental concerns about data center construction arise not only in Finland. In July, New York became the first in the US to impose a moratorium on the construction of large data centers: the ban is in effect for a year and applies to facilities with a capacity of 50 MW or more. Among the reasons cited are rising electricity bills, noise, and water consumption for cooling.

And what about Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is building a "Data Center Valley": Kazakhtelecom is seeking capital for the project through three channels at once. The facility's capacity is from 300 MW to 1 GW, with the launch of the first facilities planned for early 2027.

The issue of electricity is also acute here. The first phase requires 300 MW of guaranteed capacity, whereas the country itself experiences an electricity deficit: in 2025 it amounted to about 1.5 billion kWh, and part of the energy was imported from Russia. And the head of Kazakhtelecom, Bagdat Musin, estimated the electricity demand of the country's existing and planned data centers at 5 GW. For comparison, the "Data Center Valley" in Ekibastuz is designed for 1 GW.

Author's conclusion

The dispute is about whether logging can begin under forestry law while a separate environmental assessment has not been completed. The LVV investigation will provide the answer.