Finnish authorities have ordered Google to halt construction work on two proposed data centres in Kajaani and Muhos, citing environmental concerns. More than 300 hectares of forest were cleared during pre-construction activities, according to Finland's Supervisory Agency (LVV).
The agency said environmental impact assessments were mandatory for both projects, but work proceeded without them. The activities included removing trees and soil, building roads and making changes to drainage.
Why Finland ordered work to stop
The LVV order concerns Google's planned data centre projects in the two Finnish locations. The agency said the environmental assessments should have been completed before the pre-construction work took place.
Google had announced a 13 billion euro investment in data centres in Finland. Reports say the company has acknowledged the mistake. Onlinekhabar reported on the order and the environmental concerns.
