Tesla Giga Berlin Construction Won’t Be Delayed By Coronavirus, Says Grünheide's Mayor
Despite the fear of the coronavirus, the planning and construction of the planned Giga Berlin will go according to plan. Mayor of Grünheide expects that this situation will not affect the construction of the Tesla factory. Postponing a public hearing on objections to the plant is also not relevant to the approval process.
According to Mayor of Grünheid, Arne Christiani, the consequences of the coronavirus crisis will not delay the construction of the planned Tesla's Giga Berlin from the current point of view. The Brandenburg State Environmental Agency has postponed the discussion of objections to the project, scheduled for next Wednesday, March 18th. Postponing this meeting has no meaning for the approval process, Christiani said.
Despite the fact that this will not affect the further construction of the factory, Greens are critical of canceling a public discussion of objections to the planned Tesla plant in Grünheide.
“In the era of digital technology, during a pandemic, it should be possible to conduct public hearings in the form of video conferencing,” said Dieter Janecek, spokesman for industrial policy and the digital economy of the Green’s parliamentary group.
He notes that protecting people's health takes precedence - but at the same time "there is an opportunity to prove that social and economic life should not be paralyzed if we cannot meet physically for some time."
Tesla received permission to level the ground on the site earlier this week, Frauke Zelt, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, said. This is not a complete environmental permit, but Tesla may start work at their own risk.
The company can remove the topsoil from the cleared area and level it. Upper soil removal of up to 12 inches was allowed. The State Department of Environmental Protection has announced that only soil materials suitable for use in water protection zones can be introduced. The company must comply with environmental requirements when working.
At the moment, work on the Tesla's site is advancing rapidly. The site is fenced with a special fence to prevent the migration of lizards awakening after hibernation from neighboring areas.
On Saturday, the municipality of Grünheide organized the EV festival, which was attended by approximately 200 people, the mayor said. It was attended by Tesla cars and several electric cars of other brands. During it, anyone could get a test drive in EVs. In this relaxed atmosphere, people had the opportunity to talk about the planned Giga Berlin, the mayor, who was also present at the event, was happy to answer all questions.
EV Festival in Tesla Giga Berlin Area Has Support From Residents and Tesla Owners
Tesla owners are united not only by the love of their cars, but also by the care for the environment. After all, Tesla is not just about cars, Tesla is a certain way of life, which implies the pursuit of a clean future and the transition from fossil energy sources to renewable.
Teslamag reported that an EV festival was held in Grünheide on Saturday, where visitors could inspect and test purely electric models from various manufacturers. The driving force behind this event was Fahrwohl 2.0, a rental and service company for Tesla cars from Lübbenau in Spreewald. Private owners who have supported the planned Giga Berlin have also joined this event.
Source: Teslamag
This festival was supported by the municipality of Grünheide and its mayor. As it turned out, many people who had previously staged demonstrations against the Tesla factory never tried to drive an electric car themselves. That is what became the main reason for holding this event. The organizers held it to invite the residents of Grünheide to experience electric cars themselves.
“I was here on the spot during the second demonstration against the Tesla factory,” says Fahrwohl 2.0 CEO. “It struck me that most of the people who are here in Grünheide against Giga Berlin themselves never sat in electric cars.”
Therefore, the company invited its network of Tesla owners via the WhatsApp group to organize an event in Grünheide and Tesla drivers from all over Germany agreed to come.
The festival was attended by several Model X, Model S and Model 3, as well as other electric vehicles such as Renault Zoe, Audi e-tron and Smart EQ.
It is reported that this event aroused interest among local residents and cars with people who wanted to try them drove around the area almost every ten minutes. The owners of electric vehicles, in addition to giving everyone a test drive, told people about their cars and their essence.
Source: Teslamag
During the event, people expressed their biggest concerns. Their biggest fear is the problem of water supply. But here, in a comfortable and conducive to positive conversations atmosphere, there is mayor Grünheide Arne Christiani. The issue of water supply has been resolved, the mayor said, it was a purely legal issue. The Straussberg-Erkner water association has already received permission for the necessary water production.
Meanwhile, the State Environmental Agency in Brandenburg gave the green light for planning part of the site in Grünheide near Berlin. This means that Tesla received permission to level the land. At the moment, a meeting scheduled for March 18th to defer objections to the Tesla factory in Grünheide has been postponed, but authorities say this will not affect the schedule.
(20min delay)