Finland launches criminal investigation into Google’s clearing of forest for datacentre site

Finnish ⁠police have launched a criminal investigation into possible breaches ⁠of the country’s environmental ⁠laws ​at the site of a planned Google datacentre in rural northern Finland.

Authorities allege that Tuike Finland, a Google subsidiary, cleared and drained 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest at the planned site in Muhos before environmental impact assessments required by Finnish law had been completed.

Like other Nordic countries, Finland is attractive to tech companies seeking to build datacentres because of its relative geopolitical stability and abundance of land, but also because its cool climate should allow them to cut energy costs.

“Based on preliminary information, there have been ambiguities and ‌shortcomings in the drainage and water management at the construction site of Tuike Finland ​Oy’s datacentre project,” Finnish police said in a statement on Thursday.

“The criminal investigation will examine, among other things, circumstances related to these issues,” they added.

Finnish authorities are considering applications for a total of 145 new datacentres at various stages of planning, including a €13bn (£11bn) artificial intelligence infrastructure project by Google that the US company has called its largest ‌investment in Europe.

Earlier this month Finnish authorities ordered Google to suspend work at two sites – Muhos and Otanmäki, about 100km to the south-east – after the company failed to complete environmental impact assessments before clearcutting the land.

The Supervisory ⁠Agency, which oversees environmental permits and assessments, told Google to halt “preparatory ​measures altering the environment”. Campaigners estimate 250,000 trees have been felled at Muhos and 150,000 at Otanmäki.

Google’s Finland country manager, Antti Järvinen, has apologised for the forest clearings, but argued that the company had acted according to “the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time”.

The Finnish government has encouraged the projects. In September, when Google’s plans were announced, the prime minister, Petteri Orpo, said attracting investment was a “top priority” and the deal would “deliver lasting benefits”.

But the revelations over Google’s alleged misconduct have sparked a national debate over what datacentre deals mean for communities, the environment and energy prices. The issue could impact parliamentary elections due in April.

More than 93,000 people have signed a petition demanding more datacentre regulation and compensation for environmental damage. Experts say datacentres bring a limited number of local jobs, and benefits on a national level are minimal.

“Really, for Finland, there are no benefits,” said Jussi Kangasharju, professor of computer science at University of Helsinki. “They are international companies serving international customers. Datacentres ultimately have little benefit for others except the datacentre operator.”