Finland's LVV halts Google's site works

Finland's regulatory control agency, LVV, has given Tuike Finland, Google's Finnish subsidiary, until 23 October to stop preparatory works at its planned data-centre sites at Muhos and Otanmäki in Kajaani until environmental impact assessments finish⁠¹. LVV is weighing a fine that becomes payable only if Tuike does not comply. Google said it would comply, and a spokesperson said the company had "fallen short of our own high standards".

At Google's operating campus in Hamina, Tuike felled flying-squirrel nest trees, feeding areas and travel corridors on about 1.3 hectares in 2018 and 2019 without permission, Yle reported on 20 October from records Helsingin Sanomat obtained⁠². The Siberian flying squirrel is strictly protected under EU law, and Google received reprimands only. Tuula Tanska, LVV's head of Nature protection, said officials found at the time that the felling was inadvertent.

In Santiago, Chile's environmental assessment service, SEA (Servicio de Evaluación Ambiental), ruled that Google's redesigned data centre in Cerrillos need not enter full environmental review, El Desconcierto reported on 19 October⁠³. Google dropped the original project in 2024 over aquifer water; the redesign uses air chillers and clears review under a 2025 rule that raised the diesel-storage trigger from 80 to 1,000 tonnes. Opponents say Cerrillos stores almost 700 tonnes.

Cerrillos is the second exemption since the threshold rose, after Alto Jahuel; five more filings from the group reported in September declare 511 to 990 tonnes. SEA's own July 2026 resolution on Alto Jahuel shows a 990-tonne tank and 56 diesel generator sets totalling 94.95 MW, more than the 92.7 MW on-site substation that connects it to the grid⁠⁴.

In Spain, Xataka, citing El Mundo, reported on 20 October that Google has paused plans worth billions of dollars to expand its compute capacity until it sees the final data-centre decree; Google has made no statement⁠⁵. The project named as most exposed is the Cantabria landing station for its subsea cable to Florida. The reported trigger is the draft's rule that 80% of consumption come from new renewables matched hour by hour, counting only plants started within 18 months of the data centre.

Óscar López, the Digital Transformation minister, said on 8 October he hoped to approve the decree before the 29 November election. On 22 October he said he could not confirm the date, adding that Google has always committed to investing in Spain⁠⁶. The Consejo de Estado, Spain's top advisory body, has yet to give its opinion, and the CNMC (National Markets and Competition Commission) has recommended relaxing both the 18-month rule and hourly matching, Demócrata reported. The consultation on the draft closed in September.