Responses to objections to Tesla Giga Berlin

Soon, the construction of Gigafactory 4, the largest industrial settlement in Brandenburg, will begin. The plant for the production of environmentally friendly vehicles will operate on electricity from renewable energy sources and will employ 12,000 people.

Yesterday was the last day to file objections to Giga Berlin, and March 18 they will be discussed. For this, the city administration booked the city hall for two days. Only after this hearing can the State Environmental Agency issue a building permit. What causes the most questions and objections?

At the moment, Tesla managed to clear 90 hectares of forest. However: if, contrary to expectations, the application for construction is not approved, Tesla must again plant the forest at its own expense.

The current construction plan includes only the first phase of the construction of the factory. In the future, the plant can grow with further stages of expansion depending on success. However, for this new supporting documents must be submitted and approved.

The very first question was the forest. From the beginning of this project to the present day, many people have this question. It should immediately be made clear that this is not a forest, in that concept of a word that we are used to understanding. On this site is a pine plantation. The only purpose with which all these trees were planted there is to cut them for further production of cardboard from them.

Some people have repeatedly protested against clearing this pine plantation. But, it is very strange to see how people who use furniture and paper protest against the trees being cut down for their furniture and paper. This is very wrong and resembles hypocrisy.

Despite the fact that Tesla is cleaning up the industrial forest, it undertook to plant three times more of the real forest instead. The fact is that the vast majority of environmental associations consider all this environmentally sound. The Brandenburg Region Agency has already found areas throughout the state for Tesla to plant new trees there. The company will plant not only pine trees, but also deciduous trees, which are more valuable from an environmental point of view.

Source: @Gf4Tesla/Twitter

As for the animals and insects that inhabit the territory for the automaker's factory, a solution was found.

Two bat colonies were discovered on the site. Trees with them have not yet been cut down. After the bats wake up, they will be moved to nearby forest zones. Four found anthill will also be relocated soon. There are several species of lizards at the landfill located on the site; for them, neighboring habitats will also be built in the adjacent sites, after which the lizards will be moved.

Water supply is one of the most controversial issues that provoked fierce opposition from local residents. In the issued permits, Tesla indicated a maximum flow rate of 372 cubic meters per hour. This is about 3.3 million cubic meters of water per year.

The automaker immediately began to think about how to reduce water consumption. First of all, the Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified the situation that such an amount of water could be required only during peak loads that don't occur every day.

Nevertheless, the company has made improvements and now wants to install air rather than water cooling. This means that the plant will consume no more than 2 million cubic meters of water per year.

Water pipes.
According to RBB 24, the local Strausberg-Erkner Water Association (WSE) currently pumps about 10 million cubic meters of water per year and thus provides about 160,000 people. The WSE expects that in the future it will have to supply not only Tesla, but also moving industries and a growing population. That is why he applied for permission to the State Ministry of the Environment to produce 18 million cubic meters per year. To do this, it will have to expand its water facilities in Erkner and Petershagen/Eggersdorf. The approval of the state Department of the environment has not yet been accepted. If this decision is made, then there will be no need to drill a well in the Tesla area.

Another possible problem is wastewater. According to the approved documents, the plant will produce up to two million cubic meters per year. Therefore, the WSE plans to build a new sewer pipe in communication with Erkner. From there, sewage will be pumped through existing pipes to the Münchehofe wastewater treatment plant, which is located 9.3 miles away.

Source: @Gf4Tesla/Twitter

Some people criticize the purchase price of the territory for Gigafactory 4. The price Tesla has to pay to the state of Brandenburg for a 300 hectare property may seem cheap at first.

A report published in early March sets the price at 43.4 million euros. This corresponds to 14.35 euros per square meter. However, the standard cost of land per square meter in the neighboring Freightbrink freight center is 40 euros. For many people, this causes outrage, but:

1. Freienbrink doesn't need to clean up the territory before you begin construction, while Tesla must carry out large-scale cleaning work on its site at its own expense;
2. Freienbrink is already connected to electricity, water and sewage networks, while Tesla must lay all these lines at its own expense.
3. Tesla territory, this is an industrial zone and the state has been looking for an investor for it for almost 20 years. It also affected the price.

As we can see, any question has an answer, and any problem can find a solution. The arrival of Tesla in Brandenburg is a must. Tesla produces electric vehicles, which are currently in high demand. Also, a car maker's settlement here will attract new companies to the region. All this will have a positive impact on the economy and culture of Brandenbugr.