Finland Tells Google to Halt Site Work at Two Planned Data Centers

A Finnish regulator told Google on October 6, 2026 to stop site work at two planned data center projects. The Finnish Supervisory Agency, known as LVV, sent the notice to a company called Tuike Finland Oy. CNBC and Yle describe that company as a Google subsidiary. LVV said that work which significantly changes the environment at Muhos and Kajaani must stop immediately, and by October 23 at the latest. The pause is to last until environmental impact assessments of both projects are finished.

The notice came a month after Google said it plans to invest at least 13 billion euros in Finland. CNBC reported the figure as $15 billion. A Google spokesperson told CNBC the company would follow the agency's guidance. The site's AI data center megaprojects tracker logs the notice with other pauses and cancellations.

What did the Finnish regulator tell Google to do?

An environmental impact assessment, or EIA, is a formal study of how a project is likely to affect its surroundings. LVV says the procedure makes sure those effects are assessed before decisions and major preparatory work.

LVV says the notice covers, among other things:

• removing trees and topsoil
• excavation, quarrying and crushing
• moving soil and digging ditches
• building site roads and storage areas

It does not cover planning, measurements, soil surveys or other steps with minor, easily restored effects. Tuike Finland must send a written explanation by October 14. LVV asked it to say whether it intends to follow the notice.

CNBC and other news outlets describe the notice as an order. LVV's own word is kehotus, a formal request to act. The agency says it first wants the company to fix the situation voluntarily. If the notices are not followed, LVV says it will consider enforcement. That could mean a binding order backed by a conditional fine.

What work had already been done at the two sites?

LVV published its notices for Muhos and Kajaani in Finnish. They draw on reports the agency requested on September 18 from the company and both municipalities.

• Muhos. The plan is for nine server buildings on a project area of about 571 hectares. Tuike Finland told LVV on September 25 that its tree-felling and preliminary preparation area covers about 330 hectares, or about 815 acres. It reported that topsoil had been removed and that site roads, storage areas and stormwater basins had been prepared or built.
• Kajaani. The plan at Otanmäki is for eight server buildings on about 405 hectares. The company reported a tree-felling and preliminary preparation area of slightly under 200 hectares.

The notices do not give the planned computing capacity. They say backup power at each site would exceed 300 megawatts.

The EIA procedures for both sites began in summer 2025. The notices say the assessment reports are meant to be finished at the end of 2026.

Finland's EIA Act lists the permanent removal of trees across a single area of more than 200 hectares among the projects that need an assessment. LVV wrote that the preparatory work at Muhos alone would require one on that basis. It called the prepared areas exceptionally large. It also wrote that the work is not temporary or easily reversed. In its view, the work narrows the options an assessment is meant to weigh.

What has Google said?

A Google spokesperson told CNBC the company had "fallen short of our own high standards in this instance." The spokesperson said Google acted in good faith under Finland's Forestry Act. Google also said it ran nature surveys and took steps to protect high-value areas. It said its plans include tree planting across 130 hectares, about 320 acres, at Muhos.

In its reports to LVV, Tuike Finland said the work did not need a permit. It said preparation began under a section of the Building Act that allows felling and excavation before construction starts. It said it had filed the notices that forestry law requires for the felling.

Kajaani's building control office told LVV it had approved the preparatory steps and saw no need to act. Muhos told LVV on September 28 that it had granted no building permits for the project. Its building control office had told the company in June that preparatory measures were possible under the Building Act. LVV wrote that a municipality's reading of building law does not remove the duty to follow the EIA Act.

Google's page for the Muhos site carries a statement dated September 2026. It says site activity is limited to preliminary infrastructure work and complies fully with the permits obtained.

Why does it matter for Google's 13 billion euro plan?

Google announced the plan on September 9, 2026. It said it plans to invest at least 13 billion euros in digital infrastructure in Finland in 2027 and 2028. The plan covers data centers and supporting infrastructure in Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala. Google called it its largest single investment in Europe. The company already runs a data center in Hamina, in a former paper mill it bought in 2009.

Sari Multala, Finland's minister of climate and the environment, said the projects will likely be delayed, Euronews reported. She told the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on October 6 that all companies operating in Finland must comply with the law. She said that had not happened in this case.

Criticism had been building before the notice. AFP reported on October 5 that the chair of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation had filed a request with the agency. She told AFP that work at Muhos should be suspended until its legality is clear. AFP also reported that a citizens' initiative for stricter data center rules gathered more than 50,000 signatures in three days.

Other developers are still announcing Finnish projects. On October 6, Applied Digital said it had secured access to up to 1 gigawatt of potential power capacity in Finland. On October 8, Yle reported that French firm Sesterce plans to invest more than 10 billion euros in data centers in Jämsä.

What happens next?

• October 14. Tuike Finland's written explanation to LVV is due.
• October 23. This is the latest date for the work to stop.
• Police. Yle reported on October 8 that Google intends to comply fully. Citing the newspaper Iltalehti, Yle also said police have opened a preliminary investigation into the work at Muhos. Investigators are checking whether there is enough evidence of a crime to open a pre-trial investigation.
• End of 2026. The assessment reports are meant to be finished. The notices apply until the procedure is complete and LVV has given its reasoned conclusion on each project.
• Vaala. LVV said on October 1 that Tuike Finland had filed an assessment program for a third site. It covers up to four server buildings on about 460 hectares. Comments are open until November 2.

LVV also plans to ask for a separate report on the soil removed from both sites. None of the Google statements cited here says whether the pause changes its 2027 and 2028 timetable.