The most controversial topic at the Tesla Giga Berlin was on the agenda on Friday during the discussion of objections from the population against Tesla and the carmaker was answering concerns of water with the local population.
According to RBB many of the more than 400 objections in total revolve around the supposed threat of water scarcity in the region. Objectors also fear that underground foundation piles of the factory and rising saltwater could damage the quality of the groundwater.
After hours of heated discussion of procedural and protocol issues on Wednesday, the mood on Friday was more moderate. However, repeated requests for bias against discussion leader Ulrich Stock from the State Environment Agency ensured that the debate only progressed slowly.
In the town hall in Erkner (Oder-Spree), citizens, officials and Tesla employees discussed objections from the population against the car factory being built in Grünheide on Friday. After more than 100 objections had appeared on Wednesday, the first day of this so-called discussion meeting, on Friday, the third day of the discussion, only a good 50 objections came.
The most controversial topic at the Tesla settlement was on the agenda on Friday: water. Many of the more than 400 objections in total revolve around the supposed threat of water scarcity in the region. Objectors also fear that underground foundation piles of the factory and rising salt water could damage the quality of the groundwater.
After hours of heated discussion of procedural and protocol issues on Wednesday, the mood on Friday was more moderate. However, repeated requests for bias against discussion leader Ulrich Stock from the State Environment Agency ensured that the debate only progressed slowly.
"The effort and scope of the appointment are much more extensive than we originally planned," said discussion leader Ulrich Stock from the State Environment Agency on Friday at the event. He estimates that so far only about 40 percent of all topics have been discussed. Therefore, the discussion should continue on Monday. Then the topics of traffic and climate protection will be on the agenda. The State Environment Agency may only approve the Tesla plans once all of the issues raised by the objections have been discussed. So far, Tesla has only built the Giga Berlin in Grünheide with advance approval, the company would have to tear everything down again if the final approval for the plant were not received.
In the meantime, as Tesla's popularity grows in Europe, Tesla Model 3 became the most popular electric vehicle sold in Europe, led by Germany, UK, and Netherlands.
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.
