Loader
Loading the video
Data centre in Finland

Video. Google’s €13bn Finland push transforms and divides a quiet rural town

Updated:

A sleepy Finnish municipality is preparing for major change as Google builds a huge data centre complex nearby.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The US tech giant is investing €13 billion in its Finnish locations over the next two years, according to Muhos Mayor Kimmo Hinno.

But while the project is welcomed by many locals for the jobs and investment it could bring, environmental campaigners are raising concerns about the impact on forests.

Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the board of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, says more than 300 hectares of forest have already been cleared.

"Already last winter, more than 300 hectares of logging was carried out in this area where we're standing on the edge."

For local farmer and entrepreneur Joni Pitkanen, however, the project could bring much-needed economic activity to the countryside. "The project is so huge that it's basically hard to really grasp it, even though we're right here on the sidelines. But so far, I have been fairly positive: that we're getting life, and this kind of large-scale business activity, to the countryside. That might, and hopefully will, attract other businesses around it as well. And of course, for a small municipality like this, it feels like a real boost."

As construction continues, Muhos faces a difficult balancing act between the economic opportunities offered by Google's investment and concerns over forests, environmental rules and future energy demand.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest video

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT