Google’s data center projects in Finland are facing scrutiny after the company reportedly razed some 300 hectares of forest land prior to securing mandatory environmental impact assessments.

In mid-September, Finnish news service STT reported that the Finish Association for Nature Conservation said that it suspected that illegal logging had been carried out at Google’s sites in Muhor and Kajaani.

On September 18, Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Agency (LVV) requested reports from the municipality of Muhos, the city of Kajaani, and Tuike Finland Oy – the project manager – on the planned Google data center projects, their permits, and the measures taken in the areas.

According to reports, forestry works began months ago at the data center project sites, despite the environmental impact assessment of such works still being underway.

According to LVV, around 300 hectares of forest have been felled for the Muhos data center project. The agency notes: “Logging in a master plan area requires a landscape work permit in accordance with the Building Act, if the master plan so provides. Muhos has a partial master plan in force. In Kajaani, the partial master plan has been partially announced in force.  

“The municipality of Muhos and the city of Kajaani have approved the local plans. In both municipalities, the local plans have been appealed to the administrative court, which is why a building ban is in force in the areas. The building ban in question requires a landscape work permit for landscape-changing measures, such as felling trees and landscape-changing earthworks, starting from the decision to approve the local plan. The municipal building control authority is responsible for monitoring the legality of the measures with regard to the Construction Act.”

The LVV concludes that EIA procedures are coordinated by the agency itself, and that: “The issuance of a reasoned conclusion in the EIA procedure is a key document in the processing of the permits required for the projects.”

In a statement sent to STT by Google, the company’s communications manager, Michiel Sallaets, has denied any illegal forestry activities. Sallaets said that the logging has been done on land owned by Google “in full accordance with the requirements of the Forestry Act.” He added that all potential profits from selective logging will be donated to local projects.

Another Google spokesperson, Sondre Ronander, told AFP: “We have conducted extensive nature surveys covering the entire area as part of the zoning and Environmental Impact Assessment processes, to ensure high-value nature zones within the sites have been protected during forestry works.”

The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation has called for construction at the site to be halted, as has the Safety and Chemicals Agency, until the environmental impact assessment is completed.

Google detailed its major buildout plans in Finland at the start of September 2026, stating it would be investing €13 billion ($15.13bn) in digital infrastructure in Finland across 2027 and 2028.

The company has had a presence in Finland since it acquired a former paper mill in Hamina in 2009 and transformed it into a data center. The data center is cooled with seawater, and has been upgraded numerous times over the last 15 years. In 2022, the company purchased 50 acres of adjacent land to accommodate further expansion.

In 2024, Google acquired 1,400 hectares of land in Kajaani and Muhos from state-run forest agency Metsähallitus, but did not detail plans for the sites at the time. In February of this year, it added to its Finland land portfolio again with the acquisition of 900 hectares in Vaala for a possible data center project.