Documents reveal: Google received environmental guidance from the ministry and still went ahead and felled a forest without a permit

Google cleared more than 300 hectares of forest in Muhos before the required environmental impact assessment was complete. The assessment is a legally required step for a project of this scale. Clearing began even though the process had not finished.

The problem was not simply the amount of forest removed. The company acted before the legal environmental review was concluded. Google had discussed environmental assessment with the Ministry of the Environment in Helsinki in March 2025. The ministry said the meeting covered requirements for a major investment, including the assessment process.

The breach became known in autumn 2026, about a year and a half after the ministry meeting. The article does not state what penalty or restoration order followed. It does show that discussions with senior officials did not prevent Google from acting incorrectly in Muhos.

An environmental impact assessment, or YVA in Finnish, is a formal review of a major project’s likely environmental effects. It can examine impacts such as forest loss, land use, energy infrastructure, and other changes caused by the project. The process gives authorities information before decisions are made.

It is required because large developments can cause significant or difficult-to-reverse changes. In Google’s case, the project involved a very large planned investment and the clearing of hundreds of hectares. The Ministry of the Environment identified YVA as one of the requirements discussed with Google during a March 2025 meeting.

The assessment does not itself belong to the ministry under the arrangement described. Regional ELY Centres held responsibility last year, and the new LVV took it over at the start of the current year. Google nevertheless cleared forest in Muhos while its assessment was still incomplete. The article does not describe every legal rule in detail.

The Muhos forest-clearing operation covered more than 300 hectares. That is a large physical footprint, especially because the work happened before the required environmental impact assessment was complete. The scale made the project an important land-use and environmental question, not merely a routine construction job.

Google’s planned Finnish investment was presented as 13 billion euros. The figure became public at the company’s announcement in September 2026. Earlier, Google had told officials only that the project would be significantly larger than its data centers in Hamina. The state’s sale of 1,400 hectares in Muhos and Kajaani also indicated a substantial potential development.

The figures show two different dimensions of the plan. More than 300 hectares describes forest clearing in Muhos. Thirteen billion euros describes the announced investment. The 1,400-hectare land purchase covered Muhos and Kajaani, so it was larger than the cleared area mentioned in the article.

Clearing forest before a required environmental assessment or permit process is complete can create both environmental and legal consequences. Environmentally, the work may remove habitat and alter land before authorities have fully examined the effects. It can also make later changes harder because the damage has already occurred.

Legally, authorities may investigate whether the company breached applicable requirements. Possible responses can include orders to stop work, conditions for continuing, restoration measures, or penalties, depending on the law and the facts. These specific consequences are general legal possibilities; the article does not state that any particular one was imposed on Google.

The known fact is that Google cleared more than 300 hectares in Muhos while the environmental impact assessment was still unfinished. The incident shows why sequencing matters. Environmental review is intended to happen before major, potentially irreversible work, not after it has already begun.

Environmental impact assessment and permitting were not handled by exactly the same authority. The article states that regional ELY Centres were responsible for environmental assessment last year. It also says permitting itself did not belong to the Ministry of the Environment.

At the start of the current year, responsibility for environmental assessment moved from the ELY Centres to the new Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, or LVV. The change was connected to a broader reform that created LVV and centralized permitting there. Google wanted to understand how this reform would affect its plans.

The Ministry of the Environment still held discussions with Google about what a major investment required. Its officials discussed YVA and the direction of the permitting reform, but they did not decide the permit process themselves. Ministry Secretary General Juhani Damski said the ministry’s role was to explain requirements and the institutional changes underway.

The Finnish government actively supported Google because it viewed the proposed investment as economically important and did not want Finland to lose it. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the state had done a great deal of work to attract the project. He contacted Petri Peltonen, who began coordinating the matter through the government’s investment team.

The coordination covered land, electricity, and official requirements. In November 2024, the state sold Google 1,400 hectares in Muhos and Kajaani. Fingrid directed Google toward northern Finland because southern electricity networks were becoming full. Ministry officials also discussed environmental assessment and the planned reform that would create LVV.

Peltonen reported progress to the government’s economic policy ministerial committee, led by Orpo. Officials wanted Google to understand the project’s importance for Finland’s electricity system. Google also met Fingrid leaders and environment ministry officials. The effort shows how investment promotion can bring many authorities into one planning process, while formal legal responsibilities remain separate.

Very large data centers need substantial land because they contain buildings, technical equipment, cooling systems, access arrangements, and electricity infrastructure. They also consume large amounts of electricity to operate continuously. These practical needs help explain why Google acquired a large land area and why grid capacity became central to the Finnish discussions.

The article gives concrete signs of this scale. The state sold Google 1,400 hectares in Muhos and Kajaani. Fingrid directed the company toward northern Finland because southern Finland’s electricity network was already becoming full. Google’s planned investment was later announced as 13 billion euros, and officials stressed its importance for Finland’s electricity system.

Such projects can support investment and make a country part of major technology companies’ infrastructure. They can also compete with forests, land, and available grid capacity. In this case, more than 300 hectares of forest were cleared while the environmental assessment remained unfinished. The article also notes criticism that the investment may not create high-value jobs.