--- title: "Finland Orders Google to Suspend New Data Centers After Contractors Pave Over Protected Forests" description: "Google's $15 billion Finnish data centers are on pause, as the government investigates the deforestation of over 1,300 acres of woodland." date: "2026-10-07" modified: "2026-10-07" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/finland-google-data-centers-forests-environment" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Environment" - "Google" - "Science & Energy" --- # Finland Orders Google to Suspend New Data Centers After Contractors Pave Over Protected Forests ![A photo illustration shows a Finnish forest.]() *Shutterstock / AV-Ylanne* Finish environmental authorities are in a rage over Google's $15 billion data center projects after the discovery that company contractors had chopped down some 330 hectares of government-protected forests, seemingly without a permit. According [to *Agence France-Presse*](), the Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) demanded that the Google-affiliate company Tuike Finland Oy "immediately suspend... all preparatory measures that would significantly alter the environment" in connection with two planned data center developments in the Northern municipalities of Muhos and Kajaani. In all, LVV accuses Google's contractor of clear-cutting some 330 hectares in Muhos without completing a mandatory environmental impact assessment, a necessary step for receiving approval. The company cleared a further 200 hectares for its data center in Kajaani, though it isn't clear whether that logging was approved by authorities. As [the *Guardian* reported](), Google has just over a week to explain its actions to Finnish officials. Though a government review is only just getting underway, the tech giant is already expressing remorse. In a statement to *AFP*, Google spokesperson Sondre Ronander admitted the company messed up, saying "we understand the concerns and have fallen short of our own high standards in this instance." "We will study the LVV’s findings and follow their guidance," Ronander continued. As head of the environmental department of the LVV Tommi Muilu told *AFP*, Google has not only felled hundreds of acres of trees, but has stripped topsoil, engineered roads and storage areas, and altered ditches. Speaking to *AFP*, chair of the long-running Finnish Association for Nature Conservation said Google had paved over "nature sites which should be preserved." **More on data centers:** *[Amazon Warns Local Communities to Stop Defying Its Massive AI Data Centers]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()