Finnish regulators have ordered Google to suspend environmentally significant preparatory work at two planned data center sites after the company’s local subsidiary, Tuike Finland, cleared an estimated 250,000 trees at one site before an environmental review had been completed.
The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority’s notice covers sites in Muhos and Kajaani, both part of Google’s €13 billion, roughly $15.1 billion, investment in Finnish AI infrastructure announced in September, which the company has billed as its largest single investment in Europe.
The clearing work went beyond felling trees, with workers also removing topsoil, building roads and altering drainage systems at the Muhos site, changes that could have broader knock-on effects on the surrounding local environment.
Google's Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, apologized for the clearings, saying the company believed it was operating within the applicable rules, and outlined plans to plant trees across 130 hectares in Muhos as part of its biodiversity commitments.
The episode has triggered significant public backlash in Finland, with a petition calling for stronger regulation of data centers gathering more than 96,400 signatures in the wake of the felling.
The suspension order adds Google to a growing list of tech companies facing local pushback over the environmental footprint of AI data center expansion, underscoring the tension between rapid AI infrastructure buildout and the environmental review processes meant to govern it.
