Tesla Finally Authorized To Start Giga Berlin Production: Green Light!

This information was confirmed by the State Ministry for the Environment of the state of Brandenburg, which issued the final construction permit for the Tesla Giga-factory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. This is undoubtedly a long-awaited step since - as everybody knows at this point - Tesla began the plant construction more than two years ago, and started building the factory at its own risk with 19 pre-approvals but no final, official permit. A risky move that sought to shorten deadlines at the time, that now proves to have been successful in view of all the difficulties and delays in obtaining the final operating permits, that were successfully overcome.

BREAKING: BRANDENBURGS MINISTER WOITKE ANNOUNCED, THE FINAL CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR GIGA BERLIN HAS BEEN ISSUED AND GIVEN TO TESLA — TeslaGiga4 (@TeslaOwnersDE) March 4, 2022

Tesla's initial plan is to produce up to 500,000 units a year in Giga Berlin, which will employ a total of up to 12,000 workers, out of which 3,000 are already working at the factory at the moment. One of the great hurdles to pass in order to secure granting the permit was that Tesla also wanted to build a battery factory, which apparently collided with the question of the factory's water consumption; which in turn turned up to be the main battle for the company, the federal government and the city councils and neighbor associations.

$TLSA Receives Final Approval For Giga Berlin: Report https://t.co/qtDURrYyE8 via @insideevs.com— squawksquare (@squawksquare) March 4, 2022

Still ahead are the on-going disputes over the claims filed by groups such as the Green League and the Brandenburg Nature Conservation Union, which have denounced the permit granted by the State Environment Office, and where many other potential risks - mainly related to water consumption at the Giga Plant - are indicated.

Hey @elonmusk, #Brandenburg has delivered. Have fun reading the German Baugenehmigung during the weekend. #Tesla #GigaBerlin https://t.co/ErbtWjVVop— Staatskanzlei Brandenburg (@Stk_Brandenburg) March 4, 2022

Tesla will now have to continue fighting in court in order to secure the water supply, while at the same time environmental groups and the local government will be monitoring that consumption actually falls within what is legally established in the permits, under threat to having the contract terminated in case of exceeding the limits strictly established in the authorizations. But this is certainly good news for Europeans, during a difficult time in the Continent: Model Y units will finally start coming out of Giga Berlin, right away.

Nico Caballero is the VP of Finance of Cogency Power, specializing in solar energy. He also holds a Diploma in Electric Cars from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and enjoys doing research about Tesla and EV batteries. He can be reached at @NicoTorqueNews on Twitter. Nico covers Tesla and electric vehicle latest happenings at Torque News.