Posted on 02/20/2020 1:26:01 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
BERLIN - A German court ruled on Thursday that Tesla Inc can continue to clear forest near the capital Berlin to build its first European car and battery factory, in a defeat for local environmental activists.
The court said in a statement it had rejected urgent applications to stop the land being cleared of trees from several environmental groups, adding its ruling was final. It had temporarily halted the tree felling earlier this month.
The U.S. electric carmaker announced plans last November to build a Gigafactory in Gruenheide.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Will they change the name of the town to “Nicht-so-gruenheide” after the forest is gone?
See how “green” electric cars are. And, never mind about the poor children in Africa clawing rocks with their bare hands looking for Cobalt. Shhh…. you’ll disturb a smug liberal.
Ping.
cow deer ewe! fossil fuels are destroying the earth... nevermind.
Ping.
Germany has cleared many forests to make room for wind turbines.
This is just more environmental destruction to save the environment.
Tesla is reportedly in advanced talks to use cobalt-free batteries by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) in cars produced at Giga Shanghai in China.
People knowledgeable about the matter have stated that the US electric car maker has been in talks with CATL for more than a year to supply lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for its MIC Model 3 that are produced in Giga Shanghai. These batteries are cheaper by “double-digit percent” than the batteries currently used in its vehicles, Reuters reported.
Both companies did not comment about the said negotiations but if this report holds water, this will be the first time for Tesla to include LFP batteries in its vehicle lineup. Such adoption will help lower the cost of production and will allow Tesla to adjust its strategy to establish a strong presence in the biggest automotive market in the world.
According to the people with knowledge of the matter, Tesla will not stop using nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) batteries in its vehicles and it’s not yet clear to what extent Tesla will use the LFP batteries. Nickel-cobalt-aluminum or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NCM) batteries are the go-to batteries of electric vehicle manufacturers because of their higher density, which allows EVs to have ample range on a single charge.
Tesla focuses on NCA with lower cobalt content than NCM batteries but the possible deal with CATL can help Tesla and Elon Musk to meet the CEO’s statement in 2018 that the carmaker will completely cut the use of cobalt for its vehicle batteries. Cobalt costs around $33,500 a ton, the most expensive component of EV batteries, and is often linked to controversial mining practices. Such practices form the Achilles heel of battery production as mining cobalt is associated with human rights issues such as child labor, among other ethical issues.
If Tesla takes the step to zero-cobalt batteries, it could lead the charge toward even greener vehicles. As more and more countries attempt to shift to electric vehicles, Tesla’s focus on batteries is proven right and if these talks with CATL materialize, legacy carmakers trying to catch up with the Silicon Valley carmaker can only end up even further behind.
Cobalt, a mineral that’s rarer than lithium comes as a byproduct of mining nickel or copper, is practically the safe element in the cathode of the batteries that help it retain its capacity long-term. According to Reuters‘ sources for its recent report, CATL has been working on its cell-to-pack technology to improve the density and safety of its LFP batteries.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-catl-made-in-china-model-3-zero-cobalt-batteries/
Tesla’s Giga Berlin plans have the support of the German government’s Green Party. Various members of the political group have spoken out against the recent complaints the Brandenburg Green League has filed against Tesla.
“You don’t always have to be against everything,” Deputy Governing Mayor of Berlin and Green Party Member Ramona Pop said when speaking of the Green League, according to German media outlet Berliner-Zeitung.
The Romanian-born politician has been outspoken against the Green League since the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court ruled in favor of a complaint the environmental group submitted about Tesla. The decision ultimately resulted in a halt of the tree removal process Tesla had been working on for two days.
Pop recognizes the land Tesla purchased in January from previous landowners as a plantation of low-quality trees that have no real environmental importance. “How absurd to declare a pine plantation to be a forest,” she said.
The pine trees that Tesla’s construction crews have been removing have already been deemed to be of “inferior quality” by Grünheide Mayor Arne Christiani. The trees have been used for commercial cardboard production and give a very little amount of positive environmental impact. Local agencies requested that at least half of the trees that are replanted in surrounding areas must be deciduous and provide some sort of environmental benefit.
Martin Kühne of the Cottbus environmental group has also been open about his criticism of the Green League. The Deputy Group Leader of Cottbus believes legal action should not have been brought on by the environmental group, and if there was a problem, it should have been confronted by government officials.
“The right to bring legal action on our behalf belongs in competent and reliable hands,” he said.
Interestingly enough, politicians who represent the country’s economic and environmental interests are vocally supportive of the tree-removal process because they acknowledge Tesla’s positive long-term impact. Pop believes those responsible for halting the clearing of the land should remove their complaint and “make Tesla’s future investment possible quickly. For clean mobility and climate protection.”
Brandenburg Economic Minister Jörg Steinbach, for his part, believes Tesla will be able to continue its progress next week.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-giga-halt-green-party-upset/
Actually “Gruenheide” would translate to “green pagan.” That fits the idiot earth-firsters just about right.
Had to be some serious bribery to get Germans to allow a forest to be cut.
Well, it is to save the planet............oh, wait..........
The obvious humane solution is to re-colonize Congo, bring in modern, mechanized, environmentally sound mining industry, establish schools for the kids and pay a dividend to the citizens of Congo. And a profit to the mining company.
If the West neglects this, China will step in.
Sometimes you have to make a mess to achieve a cleaner/cheaper/better result.
Tesla’s “Battery Day” next month should clear up much.
GREAT POST!
GREAT PIC!
I suspect you are correct on the China angle.
I was on a Caribbean vacation and the Chinese are all over the place on those islands. Amazing how many Chinese trucks, buses and cars on the road there.
Maybe the court should have assessed Tesla carbon credits to be planted in the South American rain forest
Tesla win run into many 500lb bombs and dead Russian soldiers since Berlin was bombed by thousands of planes and not all bombs detonated and the Russians did not retrieve many of their dead.
It isn’t a forest.
It is a non-native Pine farm meant for cardboard grown very close together so it grows straight for easy harvesting.
The reality of what will happen is that the bleeding hearts will "save" the kids by forcing the mines out of production and the chilluns will starve.
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