Even Tesla’s original plans for its electric car plant in Grünheide near Berlin met with stiff resistance from environmental groups. However, they could not achieve more than short delays, because the political majority as well as the authorities and the courts regularly sided with the investor. It looked like a similar development with ineffectual protests when Tesla applied for a new development plan to expand its German Gigafactory plant in May. Grünheide’s main committee quickly recommended initiating the necessary action – but a planned vote to represent the entire community this week failed.
Tesla’s vote canceled in no time
This was reported by the newspaper Märkische Oderzeitung in advance and then by the RBB newspaper. A day before the meeting, which also included Tesla’s vote on the agenda, representatives were informed that the item had been deleted. On time on Thursday According to a report by RBB Unusually many citizens are present. Some of them had speculated that Grunheide Mayor Arne Christian had postponed the vote because the majority in favor of the resolution in favor of Tesla was uncertain.
In mid-May, Tesla applied for a new development plan for about 100 hectares of land directly east of the current Gigafactory site, as well as a 70 hectare modification to the existing plan for the industrial park where the plant was built. The additional areas will be used mainly for logistics facilities, including the cargo terminal, but also for the company’s kindergarten. Local initiatives also protested these plans, but at the beginning of June the Main Committee in Grunheide supported the start of the measure requested by Tesla by a slim majority.
Giga factory expansion delayed
Defining and adopting the new development plan should take at least a year, Mayor Kristani said, but this should have required quick approval to start representing the community. According to an RBB report, the Tesla issue should now be on the agenda again in September, taking another three months to complete the procedure. It can only really start when Grünheide decides to introduce it. Next, other institutions and authorities will have to comment on the project, including the local Water Association, which announced in the context of approval of the Tesla plant that it would reject any further commercial space in its area due to a lack of reserves.
