Saarbrücken (08.03.2024)

Yesterday evening, the Überherrn municipal council approved a partial amendment to the land use plan. This affects the Linslerfeld, where the highly controversial settlement of the Chinese battery manufacturer SVolt is planned.

Manuela Ripa, Member of the European Parliament for the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP - die Naturschutzpartei) and currently the only MEP from Saarland, sharply criticizes this decision. "The Linslerfeld is located in a water protection area. In times of global warming and increasing drought, groundwater protection must have top priority. SVolt's planned water extraction would violate this principle. The Linslerfeld also borders directly on a nature reserve, namely the Warndtwald forest. This area is of great importance for nature and landscape conservation and plays an important role in the biotope network, as there are still relatively unfragmented areas here. This is fundamental for wildlife migration and thus for species protection. The construction of the battery factory would destroy this important function."

The ÖDP politician is also annoyed by the careless handling of the important resource of soil. In this context, she points out that Saarland is the federal state with the most sealed surface area after North Rhine-Westphalia. This makes undeveloped areas such as the Linslerfeld all the more important in times of species extinction and climate change. Because land is becoming an increasingly scarce resource, Manuela Ripa is working in the European Parliament as her group's shadow rapporteur on a new EU land law. Among other things, she is calling for EU law to rule out the possibility of industrial settlements in water protection areas in future.

At the same time, however, the Saarland MEP emphasizes that it is not about being against industrial settlements per se. "The transition to electromobility means that battery factories make sense , even if electromobility is certainly not the be-all and end-all technology of the future due to the resources required. Saarland in particular, with its industrial history, has many good former industrial sites for the technologies of the future without having to destroy valuable land. Now that it is clear that Ford will be giving up the site in Saarlouis, I call for this area to be thoroughly examined for its suitability as a location for the battery factory - this time with the right amount of space required!"

A Saarland radio station reported that the Ministry of Economic Affairs had stated that around 70 hectares of contiguous land would be required for SVolt. At the beginning of the settlement, there was talk of only 50 hectares. SVolt had trimmed the plans for the factory itself. 

Manuela Ripa emphasizes that the battle is not yet lost with yesterday's decision by the Überherrn municipal council. SVolt has announced that it will start building the factory in 2027 at the earliest. SVolt has yet to submit a concrete application for approval for the construction. Before that, the company still has to declare which water-polluting toxic substances are to be used. "I will continue my commitment to preserving the Linslerfeld site and support the local citizens' initiatives," concluded the MEP.

Manuela Ripa from Saarbrücken is the only Saarland Member of the European Parliament. She was nominated by her party, the "ÖDP - die Naturschutzpartei" as the top candidate for the European elections on June 9.