Google has been ordered to temporarily halt work at two datacentre sites in Finland after clearing about 400,000 trees without conducting mandatory environmental impact assessments, prompting public anger and political criticism over the country's growing datacentre industry.
The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) issued the order on 6 October, covering sites in Muhos and Otanmäki, after finding that Google had failed to conduct the required environmental impact assessments before clearing the land.
The clearing was carried out as part of Google's €13 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project, according to an investigation by The Guardian.
In Muhos, the company cleared 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest, felling an estimated 250,000 trees and removing the topsoil. A further 150,000 trees were felled at Otanmäki, about 100 km away.
The clearing left large areas of exposed ground marked by machinery tracks, roots and puddles. Brown water runoff from the Muhos site flows into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River. The timber cannot legally be sold to processing plants because the trees were harvested illegally.
Google apologises and outlines restoration plans
Google's Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologised for the incident but said the company had acted "on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time".
A Google spokesperson confirmed the temporary halt and said the company would comply with the authority's requests. Google also plans to plant trees across 130 hectares in Muhos, although local conservationists have criticised the proposal as insufficient to compensate for the 330 hectares of forest cleared.
Hanna Halmeenpää, chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL), said the scale of the clearing had surprised her.
"At first I couldn't believe it. I have never heard that any company has done anything like this in Finland."
"They bought the vast land area and they just started to cut it, just like that. It's pure arrogance and it's amazing."
Halmeenpää said the incident had raised broader questions among the public about the expansion of datacentres in Finland.
"Many people are just watching the news and asking each other: 'What's happening now? What can we do about it? And do we have to take all these datacentre projects in Finland?'"
Mari Annala, an ecologist at SLL, said the consequences were continuing.
"It doesn't end. It goes on and on."
Vesa Hyyryläinen, a biologist and chair of the local SLL district, questioned the environmental cost of the projects while acknowledging the economic pressures facing sparsely populated areas.
"I wonder why we have to sacrifice so much of our nature. They give everything away too easily."
He also said: "Young people go to Helsinki and Berlin and Paris... There are so few people. We have to sacrifice."
Residents raise concerns over environmental impact
Residents near the sites have expressed anger over the clearing and concerns about its effects on local wildlife and communities.
Antti Jakonen, a Muhos resident and former fisher, criticised the way the work was carried out.
"It has been done in the wrong way. American style. No sense. No sense at all."
Anni Ranta, who lives in Otanmäki, said the removal of forest had affected local wildlife.
"We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest... They fled."
Ranta also raised concerns about potential noise from the datacentres, saying the area's hard rock could amplify sound.
"What worries me about the datacentres is also the noise because this is hardrock soil. Even when we are standing here talking, it's like a drum."
She opposed the wider expansion of the industry, saying: "I don't want them here. I don't want them in Finland at all. I don't like the whole idea of AI and the world changing and the way it's changing. It's going too fast, too soon."
Pentti Korhonen, a retired wilderness guide, also questioned the need for the facilities.
"There is no need at all for datacentres in Finland. No need for datacentres at all."
Debate over economic benefits
The environmental damage has also fuelled questions about whether datacentre investments provide sufficient benefits to Finland.
Jussi Kangasharju, head of computer science at the University of Helsinki, said the economic gains for the country could be limited because the facilities serve international customers.
"Really, for Finland, there are no benefits. They are international companies serving international customers. Very little corporate taxes go to Finland. Datacentres ultimately have very little benefit for others except the datacentre operator."
Finland has attracted datacentre projects because of its cool climate, availability of land and geological stability. The country has 145 datacentre projects at various stages of planning.
Political pressure grows over datacentre expansion
The dispute has also created political difficulties for Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who had previously described the €13 billion project as a "top priority" for boosting Finland's data economy.
Orpo described the illegal clearing in Muhos as a "cold shower".
More than 93,000 people have signed a petition calling for stricter regulation of datacentres and an environmental compensation fee.
The issue is expected to feature in Finland's upcoming April elections, as the country weighs the potential economic benefits of datacentre investment against concerns about environmental protection and the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.