On March 4, the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment (LfU) issued the approval for the Tesla factory in Grünheide (Oder-Spree district) in Brandenburg and handed it over to the project developer. The project includes the plant for the production of up to 500,000 vehicles per year, aluminum smelting plants and an aluminum foundry, plants for surface treatment, heat generation, and storage. The facility also includes battery cell production, and operational wastewater treatment plant, a fire brigade equipment house, a high-bay warehouse, as well as laboratories and workshops.
The approval documents contain more than 400-page statement that include, requirements for groundwater protection, wastewater-reducing measures, species protection measures, limit values for air pollutants and regulations on their measurement as well as occupational safety requirements. In addition, a large part of the technical equipment was installed and the operability of the equipment was tested, among other things, with the production of up to 2,000 bodies.  
The approvals for the early start have now been settled. Of the almost 312 hectares applied for, 164 hectares of forest have been cleared so far. The replacement of the 312 hectares of forest area required by forest law was supplemented by species and nature conservation regulations, so Tesla has to reforest almost 318 hectares by December 31, 2022. By the end of 2025, additional forest conversion is to be carried out on 319 hectares. The first reforestations are 97% complete.

Based on the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment press release