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"Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide, located just 30 km from Berlin in the state of Brandenburg, has a production capacity of 375,000 cars per year and employs around 12,500 people. In 2023, the factory used almost 450,000 cubic meters of water, while it is licensed to use up to 1.8 million cubic meters, equivalent to the water consumption of a city with a population of 40,000 people.

In 2022, the same year the factory began its operations, the Strausberg-Ekner Water Association imposed water rationing on its 170,000 consumers. Starting in 2025, residents will only be allowed to use 105 liters of water per person per day, while the national average use is 128 liters per day. Anyone exceeding this limit will have to pay a fine. Water rationing is already in effect for new residents.

As a result, last July, when Tesla announced its plans to expand the Gigafactory to around 100 hectares of the neighboring forested water protection area to increase its production capacity to 1,000,000 vehicles per year, residents became furious. They feared that this expansion would mean Tesla would use even more valuable groundwater reserves.

In late February, the residents of Grünheide, a small city of around 9,000 people located only about two kilometers from the factory, rejected the expansion in a referendum. A few days later, dozens of environmental activists from various organizations occupied part of the forest, which was targeted to be cut by Tesla.

While the “Teslastoppen” initiative activists protest peacefully, other groups have resorted to more forceful methods against the factory. In early March, the left-wing militant group “Vulkangruppe” conducted an arson attack on a power pylon providing electricity to the factory, resulting in production being halted for one week.
Local residents who have also organized against the factory visit the camp and coordinate with the activists. At the camp, Unicorn Riot spoke with Manuela Hoyer, one of the founders of the Grünheide Citizens Initiative.

Manuela explained that there is also the danger of groundwater pollution, stating that there have been 26 known incidents where diesel and other substances from the factory have leaked into the ground. She also raised concern that a potential groundwater contamination may even affect large parts of Berlin. Recently, the WSE threatened to cut off the factory from the wastewater pipeline due to excessive discharge of phosphorus and nitrogen."

https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/teslastoppen-elon-musks-water-war-in-the-heart-of-europe/