Finland investigates Google over 300 hectares of forest cleared for data center

TECHNOLOGY

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Finland investigates Google over 300 hectares of forest cleared for data center

Authorities are probing whether a Google-owned project company broke environmental rules while clearing land for new data centers in Muhos and Kajaani

by
Diego Almada Lopez

Oct. 5, 2026

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Finnish authorities are investigating a Google-owned company over forest clearing tied to its planned data centers. At issue are more than 300 hectares of trees felled at a site in Muhos, in northern Finland.

What happened in Muhos

The company under scrutiny is Tuike Finland Oy, a local project company owned by Google. Authorities are looking into whether it potentially breached environmental regulations during clearing work for new data center developments in Muhos and Kajaani.

The probe traces back to the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. The group alerted authorities and lodged a complaint in September 2026.

Clearing at the Muhos site, located in Leppiniemi, began in March 2026. More than 300 hectares were cleared in total.

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That figure matters because of a legal tripwire. Finnish law requires an environmental impact assessment, known locally as YVA and internationally as an EIA, before permanent clear-cutting that exceeds 200 hectares.

In late April 2026, the company requested an exemption from the assessment requirement. In May 2026, the project moved into a formal EIA process.

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Tree felling, however, reportedly kept going into the summer. Clearing continued after the May determination that an assessment was required.

Google maintains that it complied with Finland’s Forest Act. The conservation group’s complaint, by contrast, centers on the 200-hectare assessment threshold.

A €13 billion bet meets a 200-hectare rule

On September 9, 2026, Google announced a €13 billion investment in data centers and infrastructure across four locations in Finland.

In 2024, it bought 1,400 hectares in Muhos and Kajaani from Metsähallitus, the state forestry agency, for €27 million. The cleared area at Muhos alone represents a meaningful slice of that 1,400-hectare purchase.

What this means

A formal EIA process is now underway, and the investigation is examining work that happened while that question was still being settled. If authorities conclude the clearing should have waited, the consequences could range from delays to financial penalties.

Compliance with environmental assessments could become a bigger line item in planning for data center developers. Firms that treat those reviews as an afterthought risk exactly the kind of probe now facing Tuike Finland Oy.

The key things to watch are the outcome of the formal EIA and the findings of the investigation, and whether either one affects the rollout of Google’s announced four-location Finnish investment.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.