Finland Probes Google's €13 Billion AI Data Center After 300 Hectares of Forest Cleared Without Required Environmental Assessment

Google's sweeping €13 billion commitment to Finnish AI infrastructure has collided with environmental law, with regulators investigating claims the tech giant bulldozed more than 300 hectares of forest before completing mandatory environmental assessments. The company announced the investment in September 2026 across four municipalities—Muhos, Kajaani, Vaala, and Hamina—marking its largest single European investment. Yet satellite imagery and regulatory records show that Google's contractors felled forest at the Muhos site through August, continuing work after Finland's environmental regulator signaled in May that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) must precede such permanent land-use conversion.