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• Brandenburg state environment office approved Tesla’s EV factory
• Tesla had run into clashes with environmentalists, causing delays
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will soon kick off commercial production in Germany, at its new factory near Berlin.
After the Brandenburg state environment office approved Tesla’s plan to set up a gigafactory at Brandenburg, local German officials announced the news. This ended months of delay for the landmark site that was supposed to open last summer.
Tesla had intended to start production of vehicles by early summer of 2021 in Brandenburg, but the Covid pandemic, supply chain complications, and clashes with environmentalists all slowed its pace.
The environment department’s 536-page decision does not allow Tesla to start production right away. The electric vehicle maker needs to fulfill numerous conditions, including in the area of water use and air pollution control.
Tesla has said it plans to produce 500,000 electric vehicles at the new facility, known as Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. The factory’s battery plant will generate over 50-gigawatt hours (GWh) per year - outstripping European competitors on both fronts.
Last year, the company was facing the ire of environmentalists, who opposed cutting hundreds of acres of trees, the plant’s large water needs, and the disruption of bat and animal habitats. Germany’s biggest labor union, IG Metall, scrutinized the project for a possible violation of labor laws during construction.
(Inputs from Reuters)
Picture Credits: DW