Finland's Licensing and Supervision Authority has ordered preliminary work on Google's planned data centres in the north of the country temporarily stopped, after large areas of forest were cleared without proper environmental checks. The reason given is that the required environmental impact assessment had not been completed, Samakal reports.
Google plans a data centre on 330 hectares near the town of Muhos. Residents say more than 250,000 trees have been felled there and more than 150,000 at Otanmäki, over 400,000 in the two areas by environmentalists' estimate. The topsoil has been stripped too, leaving the former forest a stretch of muddy pits and roots.
Local campaigners say brown water is running off the site into a nearby reservoir and then into the Oulujoki river, raising fears of pollution. Wildlife has lost habitat: wolves have come into inhabited areas at Otanmäki, and birds such as the rare three-toed woodpecker have been affected. Residents also complain of construction noise and a changed landscape.
Antti Järvinen, head of Google Finland, has expressed regret over the felling. The company says it acted on its understanding of the legal position at the time and stopped preparatory work once ordered. It has also announced plans to plant trees on 130 hectares at Muhos, which campaigners say is not enough to make up for the loss.
The project is part of Google's wider artificial intelligence infrastructure. Finland's cold climate, land and power grid suit data centres, and the government has welcomed the investment and jobs. Critics ask how far such environmental damage should be accepted for a technology company.
The combined pressure on forest, topsoil and river water has put the spotlight back on environmental assessment before large infrastructure projects begin, since stopping work after the trees are down does not bring the forest back.
Photo: Maasaak / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Samakal
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