Protesters gather at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin site once again

On Saturday, members of the Grünheide citizens’ initiative demonstrated against Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, the under construction electric car factory by Tesla. They adhered to the distance regulations to contain the coronavirus pandemic, and only about 20 people took part in the protest in front of the entrance to the construction site, as many as are permitted according to infection control.

Protesters at Tesla Gigafactory Berlin on Saturday, May 2 – picture by Antenne Brandenburg

Fear of groundwater pollution

The citizens’ initiative accuses the US automaker of illegally fueling construction vehicles at the construction site. The construction site is partly in a water protection area, so the vehicles should actually be refueled on a separate area outside. Environmentalists and the citizens’ initiative accuse Tesla of repeatedly failing to do so. However, according to the responsible authorities, no violations were found during tests.


In addition, protesters accused Tesla of wanting to drive piles deep under the foundations of the planned factory without being approved in the development plan.

Why so many protests at Giga Berlin?

The announcement to clear a 150-hectare pine forest for the establishment led to recurring protests in the region. Prior to approval of the building Tesla CEO Elon Musk supported the planting of one million trees by donation. Following the protests, the group opened a citizens’ office in the municipality of Grünheide. This should be a contact point for interested and concerned citizens and a forum for debates.

The German environmental protection organization Rettet den Regenwald is resisting the quick process of setting up the factory and, because of the land use, demands that the factory be built on existing commercial space. Other environmental associations share this point of view only to a limited extent, since it is a monoculture forest that has been intended as a commercial area for decades.

The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg stopped clearing the first 90 hectares of forest just a few days after the start. The court thus granted urgent applications from the environmental associations Green League Brandenburg and Association for Landscape Management and Species Protection in Bavaria, according to which deforestation is not permitted until there is complete legal certainty regarding the building applications. The Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg dismissed the complaint on February 20, 2020.

The Natura 2000 protected areas of Wernsdorfer See, Spree and Löcknitztal are in the vicinity according to the Habitats Directive. The Wernsdorfer See and the Löcknitztal are also nature reserves. The area of ​​the Gigafactory itself is not in any protected area under nature conservation law.

Author: Nabeel K
Email: nabeel@wheelsjoint.com



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Ricardo
Ricardo
3 years ago

They can’t even give it a rest in the midst of a pandemic.