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The Tesla story is widely exaggerated. So far they have gotten basically every approval they asked for quite quickly. Local politics is quite supportive of the
by _ph_ 5y ago
The Tesla story is widely exaggerated. So far they have gotten basically every approval they asked for quite quickly. Local politics is quite supportive of the project, because it brings a lot of jobs in an industrial-weak region. It is also not clear that the project has actually suffered any significant delays beyond some of the time plans being overly optimistic.
There has been some attempts to block this project from some environmental groups and some groups posing as environmental, but their their injunctions have been quickly cast away by the courts. It is also not clear to which extend Tesla changing their plans in flight have created some delays. As the system works, some of the plan changes do reset the approval process to some extend.
While the original plan seemed to aim for starting production without a local battery plant this summer, there is no sign of starting production yet. On the other side, they already started to build a giant concrete foundation for what looks like a battery plant, this might come much earlier as initially planned. And this proceeds, like most other parts of the factory, at a very quick speed.
Germany has strict environmental regulations, but most places in the world have those by now. As long as you plan to fulfill the regulations, there should be no reason not to build in Germany.
- stingraycharles 5y ago> There has been some attempts to block this project from some environmental groups and some groups posing as environmental, but their their injunctions have been quickly cast away by the courts. Tangent: how can environmental groups be against an electric car manufacturer? You would think they’re somewhat fighting the same fight?
- Y-bar 5y agoA couple of general examples why environmental groups may have concerns, none specific to the Tesla story in particular, but I know have happened elsewhere: - The location has a unique/endangered flora or fauna and building in the specific location would be a significant blow to those species. - Ground water issues when a large area is paved, roofed or otherwise covered. - Noise/light pollution affecting nearby residential and/or environmental areas. - Increased traffic though connecting roads causing related issues. It's as far as I see never about the specific industry building in the place, but rather the local effects of building in the area that need to be addressed.
- _ph_ 5y agoQuite a few environmental groups have explicitly expressed support for the Tesla plant, as they see it as a net win for the environment. Those groups which are protesting seem to have very one sided view. They oppose any change of state, even if the trees that Tesla did cut down for the buildings were scheduled to be cut down for wood in a few years anyway. And Tesla financed planting of new, more varied trees in other areas. And some groups definitely are just pretending to be environmental while driving a political agenda.