Google cut down 250,000 trees to build data center in Finland
Google has cut down 250,000 trees in Muhos, Finland, to facilitate the construction of a large-scale data center. The project faced a temporary suspension due to missing environmental documentation, sparking a national debate about the impact of rapid tech infrastructure growth.
Google has cleared approximately 250,000 trees across a 330-hectare site in the Finnish municipality of Muhos to prepare for the construction of a new data center. The project was temporarily halted by the supervisor LVV due to a lack of required environmental reports regarding the development in Muhos and nearby Otanmäki. Antti Järvinen, Google's land manager in Finland, has apologized for the situation while noting that the company proceeded based on information available at the time. This facility is part of a 15 billion dollar investment into Finnish artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking Alphabet's largest European investment to date. The project has sparked a significant public debate in Finland concerning the proliferation of data centers, which are attracted to the region by cool climates and low energy costs. While Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo defends the project as a top priority for the nation, the construction has drawn criticism from United States President Donald Trump, who prefers such investment to remain domestic.
Based on reporting by nu. Translated and condensed by LocalHeadlines.
