Finland’s Supervisory Agency (LVV) has told the company behind Google’s planned data centres in Muhos and Kajaani to suspend work that would “significantly alter the environment” by 23 October, after more than 300 hectares of forest were cleared, at one site without the mandatory environmental impact assessment. The developer has until 14 October to explain itself, or face enforcement proceedings.
The sites are part of the €13bn investment Google announced less than a month ago, its largest single investment in Europe, and Google says it “fell short” of its own standards and will follow the agency’s guidance. Interesting test of how far Nordic countries will bend environmental rules to win the AI data-centre race.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) said work at one site was carried out without a mandatory environmental impact assessment and ordered measures that would “significantly alter the environment” to be suspended by 23 October.
to be suspended by 23 October.
23 October.
This is the 7th. How much forest can they clear in 16 days? Then an environmental impact assessment is no longer necessary because there is no environment!
In Google’s defense, they expected to be much further along before they got caught.
When I heard Google was going to build more data centres in Finland, I thought they would perhaps already be aware that there are certain procedures and regulations over here, especially regarding the ecological impact, and they’d probably need to exercise the necessary caution here. I mean, they already have data centres here, they should know what it’s like.
I did not expect them to be like “😃 let’s get chopping boys 🪓 yeehaw” and the government would actually need to be like “😡 you can’t do that” and then Google would need to be like “😣 well whoopsie daisy, we got a bit ahead of ourselves, sowwy 🥺”.
But I guess the AI mania makes companies stupider in the ways that we all are familiar with by now.
It is not being stupid, it is testing if they can break the law and get away with it, like in their home vountry.
more than 300 hectares of forest were cleared
If I’d do that I would be in prison.
No, you didn’t “fall short of your own standards”. You broke the law, on purpose. But maybe that is your standard.
Their standard is to get away with it. They fell short of that standard.
