By Anna KORKMAN
Publication Date: 2026-10-04 02:56:00
In the northern Finnish town of Muhos, 36-year-old farmer Joni Pitkanen is preparing for life with a new neighbour — just kilometers away, tech giant Google is planning to build new 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…
