Google has cleared an estimated 250,000 trees at its proposed data centre site in Muhos, northern Finland, before completing the required environmental assessment.
The deforestation covers 330 hectares of land located about 400 metres from the Oulujoki River, The company also removed the topsoil from the site.
Mari Annala, an ecologist with the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, estimated that another 150,000 trees were felled at Google’s second proposed data centre site in Otanmäki, near Kajaani.
Annala told The Guardian that the timber from the trees could not be sold to processing plants because the felling was unlawful.
Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority ordered Google to halt the work on 6 October.
The regulator gave the company’s Finnish subsidiary, Tuike Finland, until 23 October to stop activities that alter the land at both sites.
The suspension will remain in place until the required environmental assessments are completed. The two sites form part of Google’s €13bn investment in Finland, announced in September.
Google said it halted preparatory work at the Muhos and Kajaani sites after receiving letters from Finland’s Licensing and Supervision Authority on 6 October.
“We will fully comply with LVV’s requests in this matter.” Google spokesperson, to the Guardian
The company also submitted a formal response to the authority confirming that work had stopped.
Google told The Guardian that it planned to plant trees across 130 hectares at the Muhos site.
However, conservationists argued that the proposed reforestation would not adequately compensate for the number of trees felled.
Antti Järvinen, Google’s country manager for Finland, apologised during an interview with Finnish broadcaster Yle on 13 October.
