Star Metro - Finnish town braces for change from Google data centres

The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland over the next two years -- the US tech giant's single biggest investment in Europe.

A few kilometers down the gravel road that passes by Pitkanen's farm, the forest has already been cut down on land acquired by Google, with excavators now clearing the ground and rumbling trucks shuttling back and forth to the construction area located next to major power lines.

"The project is so massive that it's basically hard to really grasp, even though we're right here on the sidelines," Pitkanen said, as a few cows dozed in a meadow in front of the barn.

Google's expansion plans include the Finnish municipalities of Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala as well as Hamina, where it already operates a data centre.

The massive investment prompted US President Donald Trump to urge Google to rethink its plans in a message on his Truth Social network.

Pitkanen said he was so far "fairly positive" about the project, as it will bring "large-scale business activity" and "life" to the rural municipality with a population of only around 8,800 people.

"But of course we are concerned about... how we can prepare for the energy consumption," he added.

In his office in the small village centre, Muhos mayor Kimmo Hinno told AFP that Google's "massive investment" kept him busy these days as "no industry of this type" existed here at present.

"This will completely change the situation for the entire municipality and the Oulu region," he said, adding that he expected "thousands of workers" of different nationalities during the construction period -- who will need both housing and other services.

Outside a grocery store, 60-year-old nurse Aila Heilima said she hoped the investment would "motivate young people to stay" in Muhos for work, instead of moving to bigger towns in search of job opportunities.

– Mounting criticism –

But Google's plans have already sparked controversy.

The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) is currently investigating whether company Tuike Finland, which represents Google, had cleared more than 300 hectares of forest in Muhos without a mandatory environmental impact assessment.

"In our view, operations at this construction site should be suspended until it is clarified whether the project is in compliance with the law," Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the board of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, who filed the request with the agency, told AFP at the edge of the deforested area.

"From the satellite images, we've seen that nature sites which should be preserved have also been logged," she added, explaining that the size of the clear-cut area was comparable to 420 football fields.

Google, meanwhile, told AFP in an email that "tree felling activities have been taking place in compliance with Forestry Act requirements" and they "were awaiting further guidance from LVV on this matter."

"We have conducted extensive nature surveys covering the entire area as part of the zoning and Environmental Impact Assessment processes, to ensure high-value nature zones within the sites have been protected during forestry works," said Sondre Ronander, communications manager for Google in Finland.

- Call for regulation -

Finland has seen a spike in data centre investments, with its cool climate and relatively stable and cheap electricity that is mostly produced without fossil fuels thanks to nuclear plants as well as extensive wind and hydro power.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's right-wing government has prioritised attracting data centre investments to the Nordic country, which is grappling with record-high unemployment and sluggish economic growth.

But, as dozens of the energy guzzling centres are now under construction and many more planned by companies including Microsoft and TikTok, uncertainty around energy prices, grid capacity and environmental effects have sparked a public debate in Finland.

A citizen's initiative demanding stricter regulation regarding data centre energy use and consequences for the environment gathered more than 50,000 signatures in just three days after it opened, meaning it will have to be reviewed by parliament.

F.T. Michaud--SMC