Finland orders Google to halt work on two datacentre sites over missing environmental assessments

Google has been ordered to temporarily stop work on two datacentre sites in Finland. The reason: it did not complete the required environmental impact assessments before starting construction work.

The two sites are in Muhos and Kajaani. They are part of a €13bn (£11bn) project across several sites in northern Finland, driven by huge demand for space to house online infrastructure.

The order comes after it emerged that Tuike Finland Oy, the company representing Google, had felled 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest in Muhos without completing an environmental impact assessment, or EIA. An EIA is a formal review of how a project could affect nature and the local area. In Kajaani, the company has reportedly been logging just under 200 hectares (494 acres).

On Tuesday, the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) issued a notice to the company. It must "immediately suspend", by 23 October at the latest, "preparatory measures that significantly change the environment" at both sites until the EIA is done. Google has until next Wednesday to submit a written explanation.

The EIA is still under way and is expected to finish later this year. But LVV said Google went ahead with "extensive preparatory measures", including removing trees, stripping topsoil and building site roads.

Tommi Muilu, head of the environmental department at LVV, said: "In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure." If Google does not comply, LVV said it would consider enforcement proceedings and a fine.

Google said in a statement: "we understand the concerns" and that it had "fallen short of our own high standards". The company added: "We will study the LVV's findings and follow their guidance. We acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, and ran nature surveys and put in place measures to protect high-value areas. As we continue our long-term work in the region, we are advancing our landscaping and biodiversity plans, which include tree planting across 130 hectares (321 acres) at Muhos."

The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation said the sites had been reduced to "sand". Tapani Veistola, its chief operating officer, said the problems across the two sites appeared to be a "systemic problem". Muhos, he said, was "not a forest any more. It is a sand area."

Veistola blamed the rush to build datacentres in Finland, which he said pushes companies to speed up and overwhelms small municipalities. "The main reason behind everything is the overheated market situation that makes companies speed up processes so much. Also a lack of expertise in municipalities."