In a German article published by Lausitzer Rundschau, we learn that Tesla expects to reach a production capacity of 750,000 cars in the third phase of Tesla Gigafactory 4 (GF4) outside of Berlin. The article tells us that the Agriculture Minister, Axel Vogel, gave Tesla the green light when it comes to the amount of water that GF4 will need. Two key highlights from the article concern trees and water supply. Let’s dig into both.
The Trees
The article leads in with the fact that Tesla will have to cut down some trees in the area to build its factory, but Tesla also plans to plant three times as many trees to help balance that loss. (This is in addition to Elon Musk donating $1 million to Team Trees as a part of an initiative to help the Arbor Day Foundation plant 20 million trees in 2020.)
Added to that, Lausitzer Rundschau reports that the state forestry company that is selling the 300 hectares of forest in Grünheide to Tesla will be using the funds to purchase new forest areas.
Yes, cutting trees down is a bad thing, but in comparison to the logging going on for years in the Amazon, Tesla’s is just a small drop in that bucket. The factory will create something that will ultimately benefit us in the long run.
Water Supply
Although the Minister has given the green light when it comes to the issue of water for the GF4, the Strausberg-Erkner water association said that the necessary administrative requirements for the water supply haven’t been met yet by the Environment Ministry and the State Environment Agency. The Strausberg-Erkner water association is responsible for the area’s water supply as well as disposal and, once it is able, it will take over the supply for the first construction phase. The first construction phase is slated to have an annual production of 250,000 cars. The second phase will raise that to 500,000 cars, and the third phase is expected to bring the factory’s production capacity to 750,000 cars a year. Even though water can be supplied for the first phase, the association is still looking for solutions.
There is still a ways to go before GF4 is complete (after all, it was just announced), but as we have seen with GF3, we can be sure that Tesla will try to have it completed in record time as well.
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