Media Coverage: Tesla's Gigafactory in Berlin

zm2370
Nov 3, 2020
4 min read

The establishment of the Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory has been faced by various challenges featured in different local/global media platforms subject to its threat to wildlife, enormous need for water supply, and the need to change land due to sandy soil structure.

The article titled "Worries about water need of Tesla's Berlin factory not ebbing away"by Benjamin Wehrmann, grabs the readers attentions immediately to introduce the core issue through the use of language and without any pictures. The article uses factual statements to make its point. It cites that the firm intends to surpass the limit of water usage, and has failed to sign a regulation that limits its usage up to 1.5 million cubic meters (Wehrmann, 2020). This is around 10% of the municipality's total water usage, which already implies that the firm is allocated rather high limit. The functionality if the firm will require a rise in the normal limits of water usage, and this poses a very intense challenge to the municipal and the firm itself. The situation is tricky, especially after the raised awareness for effective water usage following the condition of the 2018 and 2019 extremely hot and dry summer seasons. The administration of the firm and the municipality may have to engage in very serious deliberations to arrive at a fair conclusion. The reader is shown, the firm is of great essence because it will promote the use of renewable energy, which has become a preferable aspect in the drive for sustainable development. This positions it as a priority amidst numerous technological inventions. At the same time the questiona arises at what cost, water usage remains an issue of critical concern in society, and the amount of water that the firm requires exceeds the set limit by far. This might pose a challenge, seeing that it undermines environmental sustainability which is a key aspect in the contemporary setting. As such, the Tesla may be forced to forego its production limits to be able to keep up with a reasonable water usage level.

Another article titled "Tesla forced to pause Berlin Gigafactory after environmental challenge" by Jon Porter discusses the local resistance in regards to the environmental impact. Tesla’s operations to start up the Berlin branch have been halted by numerous court orders, subject to it's presumed ecological damage. Porter notes that the firm is preparing to clear 92 ha of forest to advance its development, which has angered many activists. The firm was forced to halt these operations to allow for the "environmentalists group objections" to be considered (Porter, 2020). The use of above image underlines this argument. The article notes that the motion seeking legal protection has a chance of succeeding. The article features a picture of people demonstrating against the initiation of Tesla's project citing environmental impacts. The picture alludes to the reader’s attention, and aid in comprehension of the matter at hand. Tesla has prepared close to 300 ha of land, and this has to go along with relocation of wildlife like reptiles, bats, and forest ants for successful initiation of the project. Porter states that the firm may provide economic benefits through offering employment chances for at least 12000 individuals, to facilitate high production targets. Even so, the company CEO Elon Musk is defending the firm through Twitter by noting that not much the forest that will be cleared is not a natural forest but was rather planted. Musk also claims that only a small portion of the forest will be cleared to facilitate the firm's operations. He deems that the sustainable energy vehicles that the firm intends to manufacture will result to an extremely positive net environmental impact. However, this decision is not his to make, and the firm administration can only hope that the environmentalists and activists could perceive the impact from the company's perception.

Early this year, the online magazine Electrek reported in a short article "Tesla Berlin Gigafactory stalls, reportedly has to revise foundation due to soil issue", by Fred Lambert that Tesla will have to revise their entire foundation plan, after the soil structure turned out to be different. The report, accompanied by an aerial view of the land contends that the firm’s operations might be destructed by the realization that the soil is sandy, which means that the entire plan has to be adjusted (Lambert, 2020). This is a very critical challenge for the firm, sewing that the timelines have to be altered to allow for adjustments to be made. This means that the firm may have to reschedule many other aspects due to delayed starting time. Again, these changes do not affect only the firms plan, but also requires it to submit another application with local authorities regarding the new foundation. The development is, therefore, a critical drawback in the implementation of Tesla's Berlin project, for it will incur extra costs for the firm, and additionally call for adjustments on its time framework. The picture also illustrates out how committed Tesla is to overcome all hurdles, to present the world with the benefit of the highest level of sustainable energy automotive manufacturer.

Ultimately the question is to what price?

Sources:

Lambert, F. (2020, April 9). Tesla Berlin Gigafactory stalls, reportedly has to revise foundation due to soil issue. Electrek.

Porter, J. (2020, February 17). Tesla forced to pause Berlin Gigafactory after environmental challenge. The Verge.

Wehrmann, B. (2020, July 20). Worries about water needs of Tesla's Berlin factory not ebbing away. Clean Energy Wire.

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