Authority orders Google to halt data centre site work

Finland’s Permit and Supervisory Agency has ordered a Google subsidiary to suspend preparatory work that significantly changes the environment at planned data centre sites in Muhos and Kajaani, Yle reports. The suspension will remain in place until environmental impact assessments for the projects are complete.

The agency told Tuike Finland to stop the work immediately and no later than October 23. The order covers activities such as removing trees, stripping topsoil, building access roads and storage areas, changing ditches and culverts, and arranging stormwater management. Planning, measurements, soil surveys and other low-impact, readily reversible work are not covered.

The agency said its assessment, based on information currently available, is that extensive preparatory work has already taken place at both sites. It said assessing the effects of such work is a central aim of the environmental impact assessment process.

The agency began investigating after allegations emerged that illegal logging had taken place at the sites. Google’s communications manager for Finland and Norway, Sondre Ronander, confirmed to Yle that forest had been cleared across about 330 hectares in Muhos and just under 200 hectares in Otanmäki, Kajaani.

The agency said Tuike Finland can submit its views and a written explanation by October 14. If the company does not comply, the agency may consider stronger enforcement measures, including an administrative enforcement process and a possible fine. Its stated preference is for the company to resolve the matter voluntarily.

Agency official Sari Myllyoja described the order as highly unusual. She said it was based on information from different parties and drone images published in the media. The agency has not yet visited either location, and Myllyoja told Yle it could take several months before the suspended work can potentially resume.

Google said it understood the concern raised by the situation. “In this case, we did not meet the high goals we had set for ourselves,” Ronander said, adding that the company would review the agency’s findings and follow its instructions. He said Google had acted in good faith under forestry law, conducted nature surveys and taken steps to protect valuable natural sites. The company also plans to plant trees across 130 hectares in Muhos.

Google confirmed in early September that it would build data centres in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. The agency’s order concerns the projects in Kajaani and Muhos.