A Finnish supervisory authority ordered on Tuesday to halt preparatory work with environmental significance at two planned sites for Google data centers in northern Finland until the legally required environmental impact assessments are completed.
The Finnish Licensing and Supervisory Authority (LVV) ruled that Tuike Finland Oy, the company responsible for implementing these projects, must immediately suspend such work at facilities in the municipality of Muhoos and the city of Kajaani in northern Finland, no later than October 23.
This directive applies to activities such as tree felling, removal of topsoil, construction of roads and storage areas, as well as changes to the drainage system. Environmental impact assessments for both projects are still underway and are expected to be completed later this year.
Google stated its intention to comply with the authorities' instructions. Sondre Ronander, Google's head of public relations for Finland and Norway, told the Finnish national broadcasting corporation Yle: 'We are carefully reviewing the comments from the Finnish authorities and will act in accordance with the instructions of the Finnish authorities.'
Previously, the company claimed it was acting based on Finnish forestry legislation. However, Finnish authorities emphasized that environmental impact assessment requirements are governed by separate legislation.
Finland's Minister for Climate and the Environment, Sari Multala, informed FedMea that all companies operating in Finland, whether domestic or international, are obliged to comply with Finnish laws. She specified that responsibility extends to the entire chain of subcontractors, and ultimately the international company bears this responsibility.
Both projects are part of Google's investment plan worth 13 billion euros (approximately 14.64 billion US dollars), which was officially announced on September 9. This plan includes new data centers in Muhoos, Kajaani, and Vaala, a municipality in central-northern Finland, as well as an expansion of the existing facility in the city of Hamina in southern Finland.
Preparatory work at the sites in Muhoos and Kajaani began earlier this year: tree clearing started in March, followed by subsequent work on soil movement and infrastructure.
Google characterized this investment as its largest single project in Europe.