Tesla critics denounce the redacted report

Environmentalists see risks in the way the electric car manufacturer deals with incidents during the planned expansion of the Tesla factory near Berlin. Before the start of a hearing of critics on Monday, which included more than a thousand objections, the “Green League Brandenburg” objected to the failure to publish certain details.

“The safety report has been largely made illegible,” regional director Michael Ganschow told the German news agency. The report is also incomplete because not all types of systems are mentioned. “This turns public participation into a farce.”

Tesla wants to expand its factory in Grünheide, in the east of Berlin. The aim is to increase production capacity from the original target of 500,000 cars per year to one million. To this end, the company submits three-part environmental permit applications to the state of Brandenburg. According to the latest information, around 250,000 cars are currently built annually.

Tesla doesn’t expect any major hurdles

Before the hearing, five environmental organizations asked the State Environment Agency for the latest documents on the expansion. The Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation, the Association for Nature Conservation, the Green League, the Friends of Nature and the German Forest Protection Association doubt whether Tesla’s underlying application is the most recent version. The documents were changed twice during the public showing phase, Ganschow said. “How are we, as administrative assistants, supposed to provide technical assistance to the licensing authority if we do not have the current documents or have redacted significant portions of them?”

Tesla does not expect any major hurdles to the initial approval of the planned expansion. Based on the objections, the company says it does not see any significant obstacles to the entire project, but expects hundreds of conditions, as with the plant’s approval in March 2022. “The question is what role the State Environmental Agency, as the approval authority, still plays in the process,” Ganschow said.

During the hearing, more than 1,070 objections from critics will be discussed: from water to nature conservation to dealing with incidents. Most objections were about water. Tesla dismisses the concerns. The company does not plan to use additional water for the expansion and does not expect any risks to groundwater. Plans for around 81,000 poles for a new factory building are also controversial. According to the company, no additional forest needs to be cut down.