Not Just in Indonesia: Data Centre Construction in Finland Halted
Not only in Indonesia: construction of data centres in Finland has also been halted.
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Environmental concerns surrounding data centre construction have come under scrutiny in Finland, prompting a request to suspend the construction of two Google data centres in the country.
The Finnish Permit and Supervision Authority (LVV) has asked Google’s subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, to suspend construction until an assessment of the environmental impact is complete.
The two data centres affected are located in Muhos and Kajaani. The suspension request covers tree felling, removal of topsoil, excavation, mining, crushing, earth moving, trenching, and the construction of roads and storage areas.
Work must be halted no later than 23 October 2026.
The LVV stated that the request does not apply to low-impact and easily reversible activities such as planning, measurement and land surveys. The authority said the measures would cause local environmental effects.
“In our view, these measures will alter the environment and cause impacts, which identifying and assessing is one of the purposes of the environmental impact assessment procedure,” said Tommi Muilu, head of the environment department at the LVV.
Google has also responded to the suspension. According to the technology giant, the company understands the concerns and acknowledges that it fell short of its own standards.
“We acted in good faith under the Forest Act and through nature surveys, and implemented measures to protect high-value areas,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNBC International on Thursday (8 October 2026).
Amid the growth of AI, Finland has emerged as one of the leading locations for data centre development. Hyperscale companies and developers are seeking land and power that have become scarce in Europe, leading some to dub the country “the Texas of Europe”.
A number of data centre projects have been announced for Finland, which is said to have the potential for capacity of hundreds of megawatts. These include Google’s investment of US$15 billion.