After conducting searches and explosions of ammunition at the site of the planned factory of the American automaker in Grünheide, Tesla can begin clearing 90 hectares of forest. Deforestation must be done before mid-March, that is, before the start of the vegetative period.

Around the question of cutting down a pine forest, which is located on the site of the future Tesla factory, there is much debate. But it should be remembered that the commercial pine forest, which was supposed to be used for the manufacture of cardboard, is growing in this zone. That is, at its core, it is a low quality forest.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified this on his Twitter a few days ago.

Sounds like we need to clear up a few things! Tesla won’t use this much net water on a daily basis. It’s possibly a rare peak usage case, but not an everyday event. Also, this is not a natural forest — it was planted for use as cardboard & only a small part will be used for GF4.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2020

As a replacement, the automaker will plant three times as many trees as it is planned to cut. Gigafactory 4 will absolutely be designed with sustainability and the environment in mind.

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2020

Giga Berlin / GF4 will absolutely be designed with sustainability and the environment in mind

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2020

The Brandenburg Region Agency reported that the areas on which trees will need to be restored to compensate for clearing are currently largely free.

Over the next few weeks, more than 90 hectares of pine forest near Grünheide (Oder-Spree) will be cleared for the Tesla plant. The company operates within the framework of the current state forest law, according to which, they must be restored elsewhere.

The Brandenburg Agency provides afforestation areas that are common throughout Brandenburg. The largest areas are located near Bad Sarov (Oder-Spree), Barut/Mark (Telt-Fleming) and Brandenburg-on-Havel. Half of the new trees that need to be planted must be deciduous. This is done in order to create mixed forests that are more environmentally valuable than the pine forest that needs to be cleaned now for Gigafactory 4.

The German Forest Protection Association also issued a statement emphasizing that deforestation for the Tesla factory is largely justified. Because with the “right compensation” you can create forests that are better prepared for future climate events than a pine forest.

Tesla announced that it will pay for planting deciduous trees in existing pine forests and in new forests.

Tesla has always sought to improve the environmental situation on our planet, because Mr. Musk perfectly understands the consequences of neglect. While other car manufacturers are fighting for their rights to continue to manufacture and sell ICE cars, Tesla is fighting to adopt electric cars as soon as possible. Because it is precisely this, our first, but the biggest step towards meeting a clean future.

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