Google told to halt work on datacentres in Finland over environmental concerns
Order on two construction sites comes after Google failed to carry out the necessary environmental impact assessments Google has been ordered to temporarily stop work on two datacentres in Finland after failing to do the necessary environmental impact assessments on its construction sites. The planned datacentres in Muhos and Kajanni are part of a 13bn euro project across multiple sites in…
Google has been ordered to temporarily halt construction work on two data centre sites in Finland after failing to comply with environmental impact assessments. The sites, located in Muhos and Kajanni, are part of a €13bn (£11bn) project across multiple locations in northern Finland. Tuike Finland Oy, the company representing Google, had felled 330 hectares of forest in Muhos without completing an environmental impact assessment.
In Kajanni, the company reportedly logged nearly 200 hectares of land. The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority has issued a notice to Google to suspend preparatory measures by October 23 or face enforcement proceedings and fines. Google has expressed regret for falling short of its standards and stated it will comply with the Authority's guidance.
The environmental department of the Finnish Licensing and Supervision Authority emphasized that the measures taken by Google will significantly alter the environment, causing impacts that must be identified and assessed as part of the EIA procedure.
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