By Zoe Herrmann
Edited by Marina Yan
Google has recently begun planning major illegal infrastructures, more specifically, data centres for AI usage, in Finland. Despite the potential benefits for Google, including lower energy costs due to Finland’s cold climate and the country’s geopolitical stability, an important question still remains: where do we draw the line between technological advancement and environmental preservation?
Google’s project has rapidly become the largest project of its kind in Finland. Google has already planned to invest 13 billion euros in this project, preparing to begin building over the course of two years: from 2027 t0 2028. However, Finnish citizens are yet to discover how much Google may invest in the future. According to a recent post from The Guardian, this has sparked a considerable amount of public concern in Finland, with more than 93,000 people signing a petition calling for stricter regulations on data centres and compensation for affected communities. However, the concerns raised by the Finnish citizens appear to contrast with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s position. Orpo has described the investment as a ‘top priority’ arguing that it would ‘deliver lasting benefits for both parties’.
In theory, the development could bring several economic advantages to Finland, including the creation of new jobs, an estimated €3.6 billion annually for the Finnish economy, and potential benefits for local businesses. Furthermore, the use of excess heat generated by data centre servers could provide an additional source of heating for nearby homes.
While these benefits could be valuable to Finland, it is important to consider what may be lost in return. Forests are an imperative part of Finland’s natural landscape, and removing such large areas of trees could raise concerns about the impact on local wildlife and the environment. It is worth questioning whether these benefits could still be achieved without such a significant loss of nature and trees; 400,000 trees have already been cut down.
After all, progress should not only be measured by how much a country gains economically, but also by what it stands to lose along the way.
Sources: The Guardian News Article ‘Pure arrogance’ anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for data centre.
