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Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority has ordered Tuike Finland Oy, the company representing Google, to suspend preparatory work that significantly changes the environment at two planned data center sites. The order follows tree removal and other site work before environmental impact assessments were completed; Google says it will review the authority’s findings and follow its guidance.
Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority has ordered Tuike Finland Oy, the company representing Google, to stop preparatory work that significantly changes the environment at planned data center sites in Muhos and Kajaani. The order follows extensive site work, including tree removal, while the required environmental impact assessments remain incomplete.
The authority said Tuesday that preparatory measures at both sites must be suspended, by October 23 at the latest, until the environmental impact assessment procedure has been completed. It asked the company to provide a written explanation by the following Wednesday. The assessments are ongoing and are expected to be completed later this year, according to The Guardian’s report.
Work already carried out included removing trees, stripping topsoil and constructing site roads, the authority said. The report says Tuike Finland Oy had felled about 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest in Muhos before completing an assessment. In Kajaani, logging reportedly covered just under 200 hectares (494 acres). These figures describe reported land affected by logging; the source does not establish that all of it was cleared illegally.
The authority said the company must pause the specified work while the assessments proceed. It warned that failure to comply could lead to enforcement proceedings and a fine. The order concerns preparatory measures that significantly change the environment; the source does not say that all project activity or construction has been permanently cancelled.
The Cost of Building Before Assessment
The dispute puts the timing of environmental review at the center of a major infrastructure plan. Assessments are intended to identify and evaluate potential impacts before projects alter a site. Finland’s authority says work at these locations has already changed the environment while those reviews remain unfinished, raising questions about whether the assessment process can properly evaluate conditions that have been disturbed.
The consequences extend beyond the sites themselves. The planned facilities are part of a reported €13 billion data center project across several locations in northern Finland, as technology companies seek capacity for online services. A suspension may affect site preparations and the project schedule, though no revised timeline or financial impact has been reported. The case also highlights the role of local and national oversight as demand for data center development increases.
For residents and environmental groups, the central issue is whether impacts on forested land and other local conditions are identified and addressed before further work proceeds. The authority has not, in the material available, issued a final finding on the full environmental effects of either project or imposed a fine.
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Two Sites in Northern Finland
The projects are planned for Muhos and Kajaani and form part of Google’s broader data center plans in northern Finland. The Guardian reported that the company is pursuing a multi-site investment valued at €13 billion. Data centers house computing and storage equipment used to provide online infrastructure, and demand for this capacity has contributed to a rush of proposed development.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation has criticized the work. Its chief operating officer, Tapani Veistola, described the situation across the two sites as a possible systemic problem and said the Muhos site was no longer a forest but a sand area. Those are his characterizations; the authority’s formal action is an order to suspend specified preparatory measures pending the assessments.
Veistola also pointed to pressure to move quickly and a lack of expertise in some municipalities as factors behind the situation. The report does not provide independent findings establishing those explanations. Google, for its part, said it acted in good faith under Finland’s Forestry Act, conducted nature surveys and introduced measures to protect high-value areas.
“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 environmental impact assessments are not yet complete, so the full effects of the site work and the projects remain undetermined in the source material. The authority’s order is a procedural step, not a reported final ruling that Google or its representative committed a specific offence. The user’s description of the work as illegal is not established by the supplied report: it says the company proceeded with extensive preparatory measures before the assessments were completed and that the authority ordered a pause.
It is also unclear whether Tuike Finland Oy submitted its written explanation by the stated deadline, whether the company has stopped the specified work, or whether the authority has begun enforcement proceedings. Google’s response, as reported, says it will study the findings and follow guidance; it does not detail an immediate site-by-site work plan. The extent of any ecological damage and the eventual conditions for continuing the projects have not been reported.
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Deadlines and Review Ahead
Tuike Finland Oy was asked to submit a written explanation by the Wednesday after the authority’s Tuesday notice. The authority set October 23 as the latest date for suspending preparatory measures that significantly change the environment. The environmental impact assessments are expected to be completed later in 2026, according to the report.
After reviewing the company’s response and the assessment work, the authority may decide whether additional action is needed. It has said it could consider enforcement proceedings and a fine if the company does not comply. Google has said it will study the findings and follow the authority’s guidance, but the source provides no new construction schedule or details of how the planned projects may change.
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Key Questions
It ordered Google’s representative, Tuike Finland Oy, to suspend preparatory measures that significantly change the environment at the Muhos and Kajaani sites while environmental impact assessments are completed. The deadline given for suspension was October 23.
The supplied report does not describe a final finding that Google or its representative broke the law. It reports that extensive work occurred before the assessments were complete and that the authority ordered specified work to stop. The claim that the cutting was illegal is not established in the material provided.
How much land was reportedly logged?
The report says about 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest had been felled in Muhos before an assessment was completed. In Kajaani, it reports logging across just under 200 hectares (494 acres). The source does not specify that every area cited was cleared in the same way.
What has Google said?
Google said it understood the concerns, would study the authority’s findings and follow its guidance. It also said it acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, conducted nature surveys and put measures in place to protect high-value areas.
What happens next?
The company was asked to provide a written explanation, and the environmental impact assessments are expected later in 2026. The authority may consider enforcement proceedings and a fine if the specified work does not stop as ordered.
Source: hn
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