The water supply on the factory construction site of the US electric car manufacturerTeslain Grünheide near Berlin started again after a day’s break – so that the construction work on the site can continue. “The payment has been received and our colleagues are on their way to lift the blockage,” said the spokeswoman for the Strausberg-Erkner Water Association, Sandra Ponesky, on request on Friday evening. The association had turned off the water on Thursday because the company had not paid the bill despite several reminders. Tesla hadn’t commented on this.
Meanwhile, preparations for the factory’s water supply are in full swing. The planned factory near Berlin is expected to consume around 1.4 million cubic meters of water a year. According to the water association, the biggest challenge when building the water pipes is the wastewater that is to be directed to Erkner. The drinking water should come from Freienbrink. It is not yet known when construction of the water pipes can begin.
Water consumption reduced from 3.3 million to 1.4 million cubic meters per year
After criticism, the carmaker had lowered its forecast water consumption from 3.3 million to around 1.4 million cubic meters per year. Consumption should increase with an expansion according to plans. In the draft for the changed development plan of the community Grünheide it says: “In perspective, an additional 2.15 million cubic meters per year will have to be made available. Additional capacities will have to be developed.” In the long term, it is even possible to supply another 15.3 million cubic meters per year.
In Grünheide, Tesla wants to start producing electric cars this summer. In the first stage, 500,000 electric cars per year with around 12,000 employees are planned. Environmentalists and residents fear negative consequences for nature and groundwater from the construction. The environmental approval for the project by the state of Brandenburg is pending, but Tesla is building with provisional permits for individual construction steps.