Data Centres, Forests and the Environmental Checks Before Building
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In October 2026, Finland’s environmental authority told Google’s Finnish subsidiary to suspend environmentally significant preparatory work at planned Muhos and Kajaani sites until the environmental assessment processes were complete. Police later opened a preliminary investigation concerning work at Muhos. These are regulatory and investigative steps—not a finding of criminal guilt.
A data centre may look like a building full of computers, but its footprint starts before the first server arrives. Choosing a site, clearing land, building roads and connecting electricity and water infrastructure can all affect the surrounding area.
A case in northern Finland has made those early decisions visible. On 6 October 2026, Finland’s Licensing and Supervisory Agency (LVV) issued a notice to Tuike Finland, Google’s local subsidiary, concerning planned data-centre projects in Muhos and Kajaani. The agency asked the company to suspend preparatory work that significantly changed the environment until the projects’ environmental impact assessment processes were complete.
On 29 October, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported that Oulu Police had opened a preliminary investigation into activities at the Muhos site following a request from the agency. Police said the matter was being investigated as suspected environmental damage and that the inquiry would take time. An investigation is a process for establishing facts; it is not a conviction or proof that a crime occurred.
Why assess a project before construction is finished?
Environmental assessment is intended to identify likely effects early enough for decision-makers and the public to consider them. Depending on the location and project, relevant issues may include habitats, drainage, surface water, traffic, noise, construction materials, power demand and the infrastructure needed to connect the site to the grid.
A data centre’s operating phase raises other questions. Servers use electricity, and facilities need cooling. The amount and source of water, the local watershed and the timing of demand matter as much as a company-wide sustainability figure. Grid connections, backup power and construction supply chains can also affect the overall footprint.
What does this have to do with AI?
AI services are one reason companies are investing in computing capacity, but data centres also serve cloud storage, websites, video, business software and other online services. It is not accurate to attribute every data-centre project—or every local impact—only to AI. The facility’s actual customers and energy use matter.
Google’s 2026 Environmental Report publishes company-wide information about energy, water and data-centre operations. That helps describe the company’s overall approach, but global reporting cannot by itself answer what happened at a particular Finnish site. Local permits, assessments and regulator statements are needed for local claims.
Questions to ask about a proposed data centre
- Has the required environmental assessment been completed, and can local residents read it?
- Which land, habitats and water systems could be affected during construction and operation?
- What permits and grid upgrades are required, and which authority is responsible for each?
- How much electricity and water will the site need, and how are those figures measured?
- What impacts are temporary, and what changes will remain after construction?
- Are company sustainability claims specific to this site or averages across a much larger operation?
The Finland case is still developing. The agency’s notice and the police investigation should be described as exactly that: an order to suspend certain work pending assessment, and a preliminary inquiry into suspected environmental damage. Neither should be rewritten as a court finding.
Read the Finnish agency’s notice to Tuike Finland →
Read Yle’s report on the preliminary police investigation →
Read Google’s 2026 Environmental Report →
Read IT Club’s guide to data-centre energy and local impacts →
Have a technology question? Ask IT Club for free.
Plain-English Takeaway
Data-centre impacts begin during site selection and construction. Ask what environmental assessments, permits, energy and water plans apply to a specific project—and distinguish a regulator’s order or police investigation from a final finding.
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