The Brandenburg State Parliament Finance Committee approved a sales agreement for the site of the planned factory of the American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla. “The first major hurdle was overcome,” said Finance Minister Catherine Lange (SPD).

“An unanimous decision was made and there were some abstentions.” Based on the report, the coalition of the SPD, CDU, and Greens agreed to the deal, while the AfD, Left, and Free voters abstained.

“The contract works for both sides,” Dietmar Woidke quotes. The head of government said about cooperation with Tesla: “Everyone adheres to the agreements. So far, so good. But there is still a lot of work ahead to realize an ambitious schedule together.”

The Tesla Board of Directors must also approve an agreement to purchase a 300-hectare site. “Then the contract can be notarized,” said the Minister of Finance. The exact purchase price has not yet been determined. According to preliminary estimates, Landesbetrieb Forst estimated it at 41 million euros. But there will be another expert opinion of an independent appraiser and an EU audit to rule out unauthorized assistance, Lange said.

The minister justified the haste to process the contract of sale with the beginning of a new growing season in mid-March. By that time, deforestation on an area of ​​90 hectares should take place, this will be the first stage. “If we had waited longer, we would have lost another year,” she said. Before cleaning, the site should also be checked for weapons of World War II and possibly cleaned.

Image credit: Gigafactory4/Twitter

Today, January 10, Tesla has applied for the speediest cleaning of the site for the planned plant in Grünheide (Oder-Spree). “Tesla appealed to the State Environmental Agency with a request to initiate measures as soon as possible in accordance with the Federal Law on Emissions Control,” said Frauke Zelt, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Environmental Protection, upon request.

And this application will be considered soon. According to Zelt, such an application in accordance with paragraph 8a is quite common in such construction work, as well as used by companies in other cases. Time is of the essence because clearing 90 hectares of forest must be completed before the start of vegetation in mid-March.

Paragraph 8a stipulates that construction work can be started before a permit is issued if a decision can be expected in favor of the applicant and if the public is interested in the early start of construction. The applicant must undertake to “replace any damage caused by the construction of the facility before making a decision and, if the project is not approved, restore the previous state”.

Image Credit: #Gf4 #Gigafactory4/Twitter

A 300-hectare site is currently searching for ammunition from World War II. In addition, it is necessary to clean the ten-year landfill with construction waste.

Minister of Economics Jörg Steinbach (SPD) said that from the point of view of his department, attracting skilled workers to the planned plant is a priority. “Now we will work closely with Tesla on what qualifications portfolio will be needed for these facilities,” he said. “And then we will work with recruitment agencies to think deeply about how we can help Tesla recruit skilled workers.”

The Minister stressed that the Tesla factory will certainly have a positive impact on structural changes in Lusatia when lignin-based electricity comes to an end. “This settlement - if it works as intended, will create a large number of jobs and, therefore, also replace jobs for those who may lose them in the mining and coal industries.”

Featured image: #Gf4 #Gigafactory4/Twitter

Follow me on Twitter Eva Fox 🦊