Tesla Giga Berlin’s water consumption has been a massive trigger for the facility’s most ardent critics. Even as Tesla highlights that Giga Berlin is already its most sustainable factory today, protesters have stood on the narrative that the Grünheide-based Model Y factory is a malevolent facility that takes scarce water from the community’s residents.
A recent report shows that the exact opposite is true. As per a report from German news outlet BZ, Giga Berlin has been accused of using too much water and discharging dirty wastewater into the community’s sewage system. But as per recent reports, it would appear that Giga Berlin is actually using significantly less water than what protesters seem to believe.
Actually, Giga Berlin is using significantly less water than what it is supposed to be using. As per Tagesspiegel, the Model Y factory only used 451,654 cubic meters of fresh water in 2023. During the year, Giga Berlin was approved to use 1.3 million cubic meters for its operations. Tesla was able to accomplish this by sheer optimization and hard work, with employees stating that Giga Berlin only consumes 2.28 cubic meters of water per vehicle produced, 33% less than the industry average of 3.68 cubic meters.
For comparison, other businesses in the regional distribution area consume far more water. The Premnitz waste incineration plant uses 23 million cubic meters, the Schwedt refinery uses 13 million cubic meters, and the LEAG coal plant uses a whopping 44.8 million cubic meters of water. Most notably, the Klaistow asparagus farm uses 1 million cubic meters per year.
This means that Giga Berlin, which produces 6,000 zero-emissions vehicles per week at its current output, consumes half as much water as an asparagus farm. Such a scenario is almost comical. Tesla’s Grünheide-based Model Y factory is inciting a significant amount of anger and protest for using half as much water as an asparagus farm.
It should also be noted that Giga Berlin’s water consumption is only bound to get more water-efficient over the years. Thus, while it is already impressive that Giga Berlin’s Model Y production is supported by a minimal amount of water consumption, things would likely become even more sustainable as the facility continues its expansion.
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