Google cleared an estimated 250,000 trees at its planned data centre site in Muhos, northern Finland, before finishing the required environmental assessment. Miranda Bryant reported this for the Guardian from the site. The clearing covers 330 hectares, about 400 metres from the Oulujoki river. Google removed the topsoil too.
Mari Annala is an ecologist with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL). She estimates that Google felled about 150,000 more trees at its second site, in Otanmäki near Kajaani. Because the felling was not lawful, she told the Guardian, the wood cannot be sold to processing plants.
Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) ordered Google to stop on 6 October. Google’s Finnish subsidiary, Tuike Finland, had until 23 October to halt work that alters the land at both sites. The halt applies until the assessments are complete. The two sites are part of Google’s €13bn Finnish investment, announced in September.
Google says it has stopped
Google said it stopped preparatory work at Muhos and Kajaani after receiving LVV’s letters on 6 October. It has sent the authority a formal response confirming this.
“We will fully comply with LVV’s requests in this matter.” Google spokesperson, to the Guardian
Google plans to plant trees across 130 hectares at Muhos, it told the Guardian. Conservationists say that is too little to make up for the felling.
Antti Järvinen, Google’s country manager for Finland, apologised in an interview with Yle on 13 October.
“I am extremely sorry that we are in this situation. I want to apologise for that.” Antti Järvinen, Google Finland
He said Google had acted on the best understanding it had of the legislation at the time.
What the authority found
The LVV order for Muhos sets out both sides. Tuike Finland told the authority on 25 September that the work needed no permit. It cited a clause in Finland’s building law that allows felling and digging before construction starts. It also said it had filed a forest-use notice in advance.
The Muhos municipality told LVV it had granted no permits for the project. LVV had already told the municipality in May not to grant any permit before the assessment was complete. The municipality then wrote to Google in June that preparatory work under the building law was possible.
LVV rejected that reading. The duty to follow the assessment law still applies, it wrote, whatever the municipality says about building permits. Google plans nine data centre buildings on the 571-hectare Muhos site. If Google does not comply, LVV can order the work stopped and back the order with a fine.
Police have also opened a preliminary inquiry into the work at Muhos, Yle reported, citing Iltalehti. A private individual filed the request on 2 October.
Wolves and a petition
Residents in Otanmäki told the Guardian the clearing had driven wildlife out of the forest.
“We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest.” Anni Ranta, Otanmäki resident, to the Guardian
Hanna Halmeenpää, who chairs SLL’s board, said she had never heard of a company doing anything like this in Finland.
“They bought the vast land area and they just started to cut it, just like that. It’s pure arrogance and it’s amazing.” Hanna Halmeenpää, SLL
More than 93,000 people had signed a citizens’ initiative by the time of the Guardian’s report. It calls for tighter data centre rules and a fee to compensate local communities. A day later, Fortune put the count at more than 96,000. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has called what happened in Muhos a “cold shower,” according to the Guardian.
Finland has 145 data centres at various stages of planning, the Guardian reported, including a €10bn campus at Jämsä announced this month. The paper cites the cool climate, stability and spare land as the draw. More of Europe’s new data centre capacity is going outside its traditional hubs, TNW reported in August.
Veli-Matti Uski, director general of the environment ministry, told the Guardian the government is ready to propose changes to the law if needed.