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Freedom251 › Blog › Data Centres

Finland Calls for Halt to Tuike’s Data-Centre Site Work Pending Environmental Reviews

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority (LVV) issued Tuike Finland Oy a notice on 6 October 2026 calling for environmentally significant preparatory work at its planned data-centre sites in Muhos and Kajaani to stop by 23 October and remain suspended until the projects’ environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures are complete. The notice is not a final enforcement order or a fine: LVV asked Tuike to explain its position by 14 October and said it may consider enforcement if the company does not comply.

What Finland’s notice requires

LVV’s notice, issued under section 32(2) of Finland’s EIA Procedure Act, calls for covered preparatory measures to stop immediately and no later than 23 October 2026. The suspension is to remain in effect until the EIA procedures for both projects are complete. LVV also asked Tuike to provide a written explanation by 14 October 2026, including whether it intends to comply. LVV’s notice

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The procedural distinction matters: LVV issued a kehotus, or notice/request to suspend the specified work. It said that if Tuike does not comply, the authority will consider starting an administrative enforcement procedure under applicable special legislation or the EIA Act. That later procedure could, if necessary, be reinforced by a conditional fine. The notice does not establish that enforcement has begun or that a fine has been imposed.

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Which site activities are covered—and which are not

LVV’s examples of work covered by the request include activities that substantially alter the environment:

  • Removing trees and topsoil
  • Excavation, blasting and crushing
  • Moving soil masses
  • Ditching, modifying culverts and changing storm-water arrangements
  • Building site roads and storage areas

The request does not cover every project-related activity. LVV expressly excludes planning, measurements, soil investigations and other actions with minor impacts that are readily reversible. The notice therefore should not be read as a blanket stop on all work at both sites.

Why LVV says the work should wait for the assessments

LVV said information available to it indicated that extensive preparatory measures had already taken place. The authority’s concern is that such work can change the environment and cause effects that the EIA process is meant to identify and assess before project implementation decisions and essential preparatory measures.

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In its notice, LVV environmental department head Tommi Muilu said: “In our assessment, these measures change the environment and cause impacts whose identification and assessment are among the central objectives of the EIA procedure.” This states the regulator’s rationale; it is not a final finding about the projects’ overall environmental effects.

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What is planned at Muhos and Kajaani

Muhos

The Finnish environmental administration describes Tuike’s Muhos proposal as nine data-centre buildings and support functions on an approximately 571-hectare project area about four kilometres northeast of Muhos town centre. That area is the stated project footprint, not a measure of forest cleared. The project page lists a no-project alternative and two sets of project options for assessment: river-fed cooling towers or air cooling supplemented by water chillers, and constructing one building at a time or several at once. These are assessment alternatives, not final decisions. Finnish environmental administration: Muhos data-centre project

Kajaani

The Kajaani-Otanmäki EIA programme identifies Tuike Finland Oy as the project proponent and is dated 25 June 2025. LVV said the Kajaani EIA procedure, like Muhos’s, was still in progress on 6 October 2026. Finnish environmental administration: Kajaani-Otanmäki data-centre project

What has been reported about forest clearing

The Guardian reported that 330 hectares (815 acres) of forest had been felled in Muhos and just under 200 hectares (494 acres) had been logged in Kajaani. Those area figures come from the newspaper’s reporting; LVV’s notice confirms extensive preparatory measures but does not state those specific measurements. The Guardian’s report

The Guardian also reported Google’s response that it understood the concerns and had “fallen short of our own high standards”. Google said it would study LVV’s findings and follow its guidance, and said it had acted in good faith under the Forestry Act, conducted nature surveys and protected high-value areas. It also described plans for tree planting across 130 hectares (321 acres) at Muhos. These are company statements reported by The Guardian, not conclusions established by LVV’s notice.

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Tapani Veistola, identified by The Guardian as chief operating officer of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, characterized the issue across the two locations as “systemic”. That is the conservation group’s assessment, not an official determination.

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What was known about the projects’ status on 6 October

LVV said both EIA procedures remained underway when it issued the notice and that EIA reports were expected during 2026. The notice does not establish whether Tuike later submitted its explanation, whether all covered work stopped, whether LVV initiated enforcement or what conclusions the final EIA reports will reach. The projects’ eventual environmental effects and approval status cannot be inferred from the site-area or tree-clearing figures.

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