Finland Opens Criminal Investigation into Google’s Data Center Projects

By Staff, Agencies

Finnish police have launched a criminal investigation into suspected environmental violations linked to Google’s planned data center projects, following the clearing of hundreds of hectares of forest before mandatory environmental impact assessments were completed.

The Oulu Police Department announced Thursday that it was investigating suspected environmental damage at a construction site in Muhos, northern Finland, following complaints concerning Google’s local subsidiary, Tuike Finland.

According to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, police have received five requests for an investigation, including one submitted by the Finnish Supervisory Agency [LVV], which oversees environmental permits and assessments.

Investigators have identified potential irregularities involving drainage and water management at the site. Authorities are examining whether construction activities breached environmental legislation and caused damage to nearby waterways.

Google has acknowledged clearing approximately 330 hectares of forest in Muhos and nearly 200 hectares at another planned data center location in Kajaani, despite environmental impact assessments for both projects remaining incomplete.

Mari Annala, an ecologist with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, told The Guardian that an estimated 250,000 trees had been cleared in Muhos and another 150,000 in Otanmaki, bringing the total to approximately 400,000 trees.

Earlier this month, Finnish regulators ordered Google to suspend preparatory activities at both sites over concerns about extensive logging, excavation and drainage operations. The company confirmed on October 14 that it had complied with the suspension order.

The LVV also warned that excavation and drainage activities at the Muhos site could release acidic water contaminated with heavy metals due to the area’s black shale deposits. The regulator has requested a more comprehensive water management plan by November 5.

Google’s Finland country manager, Antti Jarvinen, previously apologized for the extensive forest clearance but maintained that the company had acted according to its interpretation of Finnish legislation.

“I am extremely sorry that we are in this situation,” he told Yle earlier this month.

Jarvinen said Google had worked with authorities and environmental experts but declined to disclose which officials had been informed about the forest-clearing activities.

The controversy comes amid growing opposition to data center construction in the United States, where communities have raised concerns about the facilities’ substantial electricity and water consumption, environmental consequences and potential increases in utility costs.

In Virginia, hundreds of demonstrators recently called for a halt to new data center projects, while residents in Arizona have opposed planned facilities over concerns about water shortages and rising electricity expenses.