After clearing a thousand acres, Finland curbs Google's ambition to build data centers on its land

The Finnish government has temporarily halted Google's ambitions to build data centers on its territory after the American company failed to conduct the necessary environmental impact assessments, reflecting the growing environmental concerns surrounding the construction of data centers.

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the decision included two data centers that Google is building in the cities of Muhus and Kajaani, which are part of a project worth about $14 million that the company is implementing across multiple sites in northern Finland.

The decision came after Google’s representative in Finland, Twikki Finland, cut down trees on 815 acres of forest in Mohos without completing an environmental impact assessment, and the same was true in the Kajaani area where trees were cut down on an area of ​​less than 500 acres, according to the report.

The Finnish Society for the Protection of Nature explained that the two sites where Google operates have turned into a sandy area full of roads, after having been a forest full of trees and integrated ecosystems.

For its part, the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority added that Google has proceeded with extensive preparatory measures that included removing trees, stripping topsoil, and constructing roads at the sites, although the environmental impact assessment process is still ongoing and is expected to continue until the end of this year.

Google faces a financial penalty, as well as a range of enforcement measures, if it does not comply with the authority's decision.

The company acknowledged responsibility, saying it understood the authority's concerns and that it had not lived up to its own high standards, and affirmed that it would study the authority's findings and follow its guidelines.

Google's dredging operation in Finland represents the latest episode in an ongoing series of destruction of green environments and expansion of data center construction, which has recently seen increased demand with the spread of artificial intelligence technologies.

The crisis of clearing trees and green areas is not limited to artificial intelligence data centers in Europe, but was preceded by the United States , whose cities have changed shape in recent years.