The hangover around Tesla’s Gigafactory in Brandenburg is apparently coming to an end. According to a media report, the final approval has already been decided and should take place soon.
On October 9th, the Tesla construction site in Grünheide, Brandenburg, is set to get going. Elon Musk invites you to the open house and thousands of residents are allowed to come to take a look at the Gigafactory. There will be tours of the site and even Musk himself has announced that he will attend the construction site party.
The Tesla boss may arrive in a particularly good mood. Because according to a report by “Business Insider” it is now finally certain that the factory will get the approval of the authorities. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but behind the scenes it is a “done deal” that Tesla will receive overall approval from the responsible Brandenburg State Office for the Environment, according to the report with reference to government circles. The official approval could be given as early as November.
It would be the end of a long hanging game. Tesla has been building in Grünheide for around a year and a half with provisional permits, as the clarification of environmental issues is taking a long time. The car factory, which will initially produce 500,000 electric vehicles per year, is now nearing completion. Originally, Tesla wanted to start production in July of this year, but nothing came of it. Most recently, Tesla itself caused a further delay because the application for approval was expanded to include the construction of a battery production facility at the same location, so that documents had to be redrawn.
800 objections to the construction
There is currently a three-week discussion of 800 objections raised by critics against the construction and on which Tesla has responded as part of a consultation process. The concerns raised by the critics primarily revolve around soil and water protection, pollutants and other questions of environmental law, but also to the traffic situation, occupational health and safety and general procedural issues.
Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke expressed confidence on Wednesday that the procedure could be completed in a timely manner. “If the hearing goes well and the objections that have come up are processed well, I think it is possible that the decision on the approval will come this year,” said Woidke of the German press agency. The SPD politician emphasized, however, that the “pending approval must be legally correct”. He trusts the responsible authorities in Brandenburg.
A spokeswoman for the responsible environmental agency stated that no statements could be made “on the result of the decision, the date and the content” at this point in time. According to information from the “Business Insider”, the authority will make the approval subject to strict conditions and demand a lot of readjustments, especially with regard to water and possible accidents caused by toxic pollutants. The fact that the factory would be approved by the environmental agency has already been discussed in a small group.
Sources: / DPA / AFP /
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
