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Tesla car factory in Grünheide, Brandenburg

Photo: Jörg Carstensen/dpa

The Strausberg-Erkner water association (WSE) also rejects the changed plans to expand the Tesla factory in Grünheide. The WSE “could not agree” to the plan, according to a letter from the association as part of the current public participation in the plans.

Among other things, the plans cannot be brought into line with the established water protection area. The association had already rejected an expansion for these reasons last year. The “Märkische Oderzeitung” initially reported on the letter.

In addition, the WSE is no longer able to supply other construction areas with drinking water, the letter said. The approved water withdrawal quantities are limited by the state of Brandenburg and have already been exhausted. We are also already at the limit when it comes to waste water disposal.

Tesla recently stated that it no longer needed water for its expansion. It was recently said that the company is prepared to forego water quantities from the first expansion stage - this is being negotiated with the responsible WSE. The WSE supplies 170,000 people in the association area and also supplies Tesla with up to 1.8 million cubic meters of water annually through a contract.

Many citizens want to slow down the expansion

With the new plans, Tesla only wants to use half of the more than 100 hectares that were originally intended for clearing to expand the site. In this way, the municipal administration and the company are taking the wishes of the citizens into account, according to the community of Grünheide. Weeks ago, residents voted in a referendum against the clearing of 100 hectares of forest and thus the expansion of Tesla's area.

With the scaled-down plan, Tesla states that it will concentrate on the storage and logistics areas as well as production-related ancillary facilities necessary for climate-neutral logistics at the plant. Service facilities and employee-relevant facilities would no longer be possible with the prioritization. The electric car manufacturer originally wanted to build a freight station, warehouses and a daycare center on an area next to the existing factory site.

mamk/dpa