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Grünheide (Mark) (dpa) - The US electric car manufacturer Tesla was partially slowed down when clearing the forest during the construction of its factory in Grünheide near Berlin.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court ruled that Tesla was not allowed to clear certain edge areas of areas that the State of Brandenburg had approved for deforestation ahead of time (OVG 11 S 127/20).
The Naturschutzbund (Nabu) and the Brandenburg Green League were thus partially successful with an urgent application.
The clearing has also been stopped because Tesla had not provided a security deposit required by Brandenburg for possible dismantling costs by December 17th.
It is unclear whether this will delay construction.
The car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer assumes that the project will remain “on schedule”.
“On the one hand, Elon Musk is known for the fact that things and announcements can also be delayed.
But in the end he always delivered », said the director of the CAR Center Automotive Research in Duisburg of the German press agency.
"And he will also deliver in Berlin."
Tesla wants to commission its first European electric car plant in Grünheide in Brandenburg from summer 2021.
In the first phase, around 500,000 vehicles per year are to be produced there.
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The Nabu Brandenburg urges that Tesla give up further clearing.
"Tesla would have to think hard about whether they could do without clearing the land," said country manager Christiane Schröder on Saturday.
She asked: "Does everything really have to be flattened?"
The state manager of the Brandenburg Green League, Michael Ganschow, asked the company to improve species protection.
The OVG decided that because of the protection of the wintering sand lizards there, felling in the edge areas of the planned areas, especially parallel to track systems, was prohibited.
Tesla had the reptiles collected and moved, but at a time when at least adult males were already in winter quarters.
The court sees the danger that the ban on killing the protected species sand lizard and smooth snake will be violated because of the clearing.
The tree felling was also temporarily stopped in a strip along the Autobahn 10, because it was not clear why this area was necessary.
The Frankfurt (Oder) administrative court had approved the felling of almost 83 hectares of forest in the lower instance.
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The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher, warned that companies could be driven out of Germany due to legal uncertainties.
"The Tesla case shows that even the courts do not agree and there are no reliable rules," Fratzscher told the Handelsblatt (Saturday / online).
"That makes reliable planning impossible."
The environmental approval of the state of Brandenburg for the construction of the factory is still pending, which is why the company is building with early approval.
Brandenburg's Environment Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) thinks a permit in January is possible, said his spokeswoman Frauke Zelt.
A specific point in time is still open.
A hearing of critics is currently being evaluated.
The auto expert Dudenhöffer cannot imagine that the approval could fail: “That would make Germany look ridiculous worldwide.
Investors whom we want to win for Germany would certainly be lost. "
The project is "a miracle" for Germany.
From his point of view, the settlement can also be beneficial for German manufacturers.
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Conservationists and residents fear that the project will have negative consequences for the environment.
During the first clearing, an area of 92 hectares had already been cleared.
In February, the OVG rejected the urgent requests from two environmental associations.
Because Tesla has not provided a security deposit for possible dismantling costs of 100 million euros on time, the installation of machines in the paint shop is also at a standstill in addition to further tree felling.
Now Tesla has until January 4th for the money.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201219-99-755018 / 2