German government worried over delays in the Tesla plant construction? OH YEAH.
I've essayed a few pieces on this project. If you remember....it's a plant in a fairly rural area....about an hour SE of Berlin. It's along an autobahn exit, and what Tesla wants is roughly a 250-odd acre area cleared off, a plant constructed, and production to start within two years.
Environmentalists have stepped in....used court action to slow this down (because of tree-cutting), and hopefully halt the plant entirely.
What N-TV (commercial German news) is reporting today.....is that Pete Altmaier (Germany's Economic Minister) is highly worried over this delay business. He even came out and said if you are highly worried about the climate business.....you need to be pro-electric car production. It's a slam on the environmentalists and it's fairly blunt.
Small and medium-sized businesses across Germany are also whining about the environmental threats via the court system, and suggesting that this is now a major problem.
The two key threats cited in this effort, to prevent the plant? First....water quality is brought up and there is a fear that it'll become a problem....if you build a plant. If this is a problem....then how does Stuttgart, Mainz, or any of 1,000 other communities survive with their industry complexes?
The second issue....the environmentalists chat about the need for roads, and railway networks.....which will clutter the traffic situation in the region. On this....they might be right. You can figure roughly 3,000 to 4,000 employees at the site, and probably a growth period over the next decade of another 5,000 to 10,000 people living in the local rural area.
If they (the environmentalists) succeed and Tesla drops the plant? It's a real possibility, and Tesla would likely leave Germany entirely.....probably (my humble bet) going to Czech or Poland. It would be a five-star negative moment for Germany, and signal that it's not just Tesla that has a problem....it's virtually every business operation in Germany that faces an unknown future.
How long can the court delay without Tesla getting frustrated? No one says anything in public, but there is a schedule with Tesla, and I doubt if you can put more than 90 days of delay into the system.
Two years ago, I wrote an essay over Apple and a data-site that they were planning for the town of Athenry, Ireland. I might recommend it for a read.
In the Apple case....very similar in terms of a wooded area which required clearing and virtually 99-percent of the locals being happy and pro-Apple.....these two pro-environmentalists entered the scene and delayed construction by two years. The court system worked in the favor of the environmentalists. At the end, with massive anger by the local community.....Apple cancelled the project, and moved on. Upwards to 300 jobs would have been brought to the community, with a fair amount of property tax helping the town. The two environmentalists? I always had the feeling they weren't concerned about that part of the plan.....they were more of a anti-capitalist mindset.
Settle back for some entertainment if Tesla cancels out.
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