Lubmin on the Baltic Sea: Scholz inaugurates second LNG terminal

As of: 01/14/2023 6:07 p.m

The first German LNG terminal was only opened in December. With a symbolic turn, Chancellor Scholz now released the operation of a second terminal in Lubmin. There is criticism from environmental groups.

The second German terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has officially started operations in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea. In the presence of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the operators of the plant received the operating license.

As in the first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, a special ship takes on the LNG in Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, converts it and feeds it in. Scholz released a gas line with a symbolic turn of a wheel on the ship “Neptune”. “We’ll get through this winter, everyone notices it at home, the gas supply is not affected,” he said. “There was also no economic crisis in Germany.” In addition to aid programs worth billions, securing the energy supply is also a reason for this.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz stands in front of the ship “Neptune” and gives a speech.

Image: AFP

Terminal in test mode

“We are pleased that we are taking another step towards energy security in Germany today,” said Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig. The state’s Environment Minister, Till Backhaus, had previously handed over the operating license to Ingo Wagner, Managing Director of Deutsche Regas.

Gas is already being fed in as part of a test run. The first German LNG terminal was opened in Wilhelmshaven in December. Unlike the terminal ship there, which the federal government has chartered, the facility in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea is operated purely privately. Above all, it is intended to supply eastern Germany with up to 5.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. For comparison: almost 60 billion cubic meters came via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline alone in 2021.

According to earlier information, in the winter of 2023/24 Germany intends to cover around a third of its previous gas requirements via floating LNG terminals. A third terminal in Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein is to follow shortly.

Criticism from environmental groups

Among other things, environmental organizations have criticized the fact that Germany is creating long-term overcapacity for gas imports and is thus hindering the desired phase-out of fossil fuels. The Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also criticized that the approval requirements for the protection of the Greifswalder Bodden sea area were not suitable for avoiding damage. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) announced objections to the approval.

The company’s application was thoroughly processed and approved in record time, said Environment Minister Backhaus. The objections from citizens and associations were taken seriously and examined in detail. “The tests have shown that the Bodden is not affected by the cooling water introduced,” said Backhaus. No biocides would be discharged into the water either, and the adjacent FFH and bird sanctuary would not be affected.

The settlement is not without side effects, said Backhaus. Noise measurements are currently being carried out because citizens from neighboring communities have complained about immissions. If the regasification system was the cause of the nuisance to people, noise-reducing requirements would follow, he said. The DUH called for the terminal to stop operating immediately. The operation may only start when all technical questions have been clarified.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is delivered by ship from several regions of the world, converted back into gas and fed into the gas network. Germany relies, among other things, on LNG to replace the lack of Russian gas supplies and is building its own infrastructure in a hurry.

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