Tesla Giga Berlin Ground-Breaking Ceremony Could Happen In March, Says Grünheide Mayor

Tesla Giga Berlin may hold its ground-breaking ceremony by the end of March, predicted the Mayor of Grünheide in Brandenburg Arne Christiani. Work on the GF4 forest has rapidly progressed in the last couple of weeks. Enough trees have been cleared out to for Phase 1 of Giga Berlin at least, which begs the question: When will construction of the actual plant begin? 

“It could be that the ground-breaking ceremony will take place at the end of March,” Mayor Christiani told TeslaMag. “Even if you never know what the objections will be, and even if there are complaints against a permit are possible.”

As with Giga Shanghai, Tesla’s Gigafactory in Brandenburg will be expected to hold a ground-breaking ceremony, most likely with Elon Musk in attendance. In China, the land was prepped before Musk broke ground on what would house Phase 1 of Gigafactory 3 ten months later. 

#GigaBerlin
What's the next step?!
Some important facts:
-until March 5, citizens can voice their objections to GF4.
-On March 18th there will be a public hearing in -Erkner-.
- From March 18th, the building permit will be discussed at the Ministry of Economics. pic.twitter.com/CDMtrlJrWb

— @GF4Tesla..🏗️🏗️.build #GigaBerlin. (@Gf4Tesla) February 26, 2020

Due to Tesla’s preparation for GF3 construction, the land was brown and muddy by the time Elon Musk arrived for the ground-breaking ceremony. The state of Giga Shanghai’s land led to TSLAQ’s “muddy field” title for the site.

Well, Giga Berlin seems to be following suit. Just recently, trees were felled that filled 90 hectares of the GF4 forest’s 300-hectare size. As a result, a “muddy field” was left in the forest, which will presumably be where Phase 1 of Giga Berlin will be built.

Tesla started prepping the land for Giga Berlin last month, starting with teams who checked for leftover WWII bombs. Tree felling began a couple of weeks later. Machines stood at the ready to clear 91.6 hectares of the GF4 forest.

This was today pic.twitter.com/2xpxMmMbOm

— Tobias Lindh (@tobilindh) February 25, 2020

Work on the would-be home of Giga Berlin briefly stopped when a lawsuit against Tesla’s clearing permit from two environmental associations was brought to court. The issue was swiftly, but thoroughly addressed, and ended with the courts granting Tesla permission to continue its clearing activities. 

It has only a week since the court’s decision, and there has been so much progress with Tesla’s tree felling. Christiani believes the OVG’s decision may indicate a positive outcome in Tesla’s pending approval for Giga Berlin under the Federal Immersion Control Act. 

For now, work continues in the Gigafactory Berlin Phase 1 site, with shredded upper tree parts already being prepared for building temporary roads. Overall, it appears that Giga Berlin, despite experiencing setbacks, is now hitting its stride. 

Hat Tip (H/T): @DerCaspar and @n2179_twit

Featured Image Credit: @tobilindh/Twitter