Tuesday March 16, 2021
Gigafactory in Brandenburg
Tesla factory could endanger drinking water
Tesla needs large amounts of water to produce its e-cars in Grünheide, Brandenburg. The head of the local water association fears that the drinking water supply of the entire region could suffer as a result. Tesla boss Musk doesn't want to know anything about the problems.
The debate that has been going on for months about the water consumption of the Tesla plant near Berlin, which is currently under construction, continues. "The drinking water supply is sacrificed on the table of gifts of economic policy," said the head of the responsible water association Strausberg-Erkner, André Bähler, on ZDF. He feared that the Tesla production in Grünheide, Brandenburg, will lead to restrictions on drinking water. The factory is scheduled to start production in July and be able to produce up to 500,000 vehicles per year. Tesla boss Elon Musk denied possible water problems in a statement to the station. "Basically, we are not in a very dry region. Trees would not grow if there was no water," said Musk.
Tesla estimates a maximum water consumption of 1.4 million cubic meters per year for its Gigafactory at full capacity. The value was reduced by 30 percent through austerity measures. This is the estimated maximum requirement under the most unfavorable conditions, in regular operation the consumption should be significantly lower. For the entire area that Tesla could expand over time, the group set a theoretical maximum of 3.6 million cubic meters of water per year. However, it is unclear whether it will ever be achieved.
In addition, the ZDF reported that the investments for Tesla's first European plant have now risen to 5.8 billion euros. "The order of magnitude is right," said a spokeswoman for the Brandenburg Ministry of Economics on request. Tesla itself does not provide any information on the amount of investments. Musk also wants to build the world's largest battery factory on the site. In industry circles there is talk of investments in the mid single-digit billion range without battery production.
Citizens demand to see the application documents
Another water debate about the plant recently came to the fore. In an open letter to the State Office for the Environment, three civic associations requested the interpretation of current application documents. It is about how the rainwater from the roofs and paved areas of the factory should seep into the ground. The citizens' associations emphasized that numerous residents use house wells for drinking water supply and would be affected if the groundwater flow decreases or if pollutants get there.
After Tesla had initially planned a large collecting basin for rainwater, according to information from industry circles, the company switched from a central to a decentralized concept for rainwater infiltration – which environmental associations would have called for. As a result, the overall environmental impact has been improved once again, it said. The Ministry of the Environment said that changing the application for a permit for the infiltration of rainwater was not a formal procedure with public participation.
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