Germany: Disputed floating LNG terminal arrives at Rügen

The Energos Power, a 300-meter-long (985-foot-long) floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operated by the company Deutsche ReGas, docked at the northeastern port of Mukran on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen on Saturday.

The project to acquire floating LNG terminals such as Energos Power was launched in an attempt to wean Germany off of Russian gas. For years, Berlin counted on Moscow to supply gas but that ended with Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Deutsche ReGas said the Energos Power was loaded with Norwegian gas. In the future Energos Power will take on LNG from other vessels before retransforming the fuel back into gas form and then transferring it to an extant 50-kilometer-long pipeline that will bring gas to the mainland, where it can then be redistributed.

Two permits required for full-scale operation have already been awarded, and a third, related to maritime and environmental regulations, awaits approval, which is expected next week.

Floating terminal 'an example for other infrastructure projects'

ReGas Supervisory Board Chair Stephan Knabe on Saturday said, "As promised, we will begin transferring natural gas from Mukran to Germany's gas transmission network with the Energos Power this winter."

The project was also praised as a success by Germany's commissioner for eastern Germany, Carsten Schneider. The Social Democrat said the Rügen terminal will, "guarantee Germany's energy independence as well as that of numerous companies. The fact that the terminal was set up and the necessary pipelines laid within just a matter of months is proof of Germany's new pace and should serve as an example for other infrastructure projects."

Schneider noted that the current terminal represents a temporary phase in the transition away from fossil fuels, adding, "this is also why the infrastructure was created to transport clean hydrogen in the future."

A threat to Rügen's nature, climate and tourism industry

Still, not everyone is excited about the plan. Environmental groups, such as Environmental Action Germany (DUH), for instance, have railed against the approach, saying the terminal threatens to "turn the popular vacation island of Rügen into a fossil fuel energy park."

Critics argue the project poses dangerous threats to the island's nature, landscape and climate.

DUH Federal Chairman Sascha Mueller-Kraener, speaking of the project said, "The double terminal at Mukran has not yet received final approval. We will pull every political and legal lever we can to stop this fossil fuel project."

Opponents have fought the project for more than a year, arguing that Germany's strategic gas reserves are at capacity with no threat in sight. They also claim that in their rush to approve the project, leaders failed to adequately consider potential environmental threats posed by the terminal.

Floating LNG terminals have also been approved and installed elsewhere in Germany since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Currently, floating terminals are operating in the ports of Wilhelmshaven, Lubmin and Brunsbüttel, with another soon set to begin operations in Stade.

This summer, another, somewhat smaller ReGas vessel, the Neptune, will depart Lubmin and begin operations in Mukran alongside Energos Power.

js/ab (dpa, Reuters)

While you're here: DW editors round up what is happening in Germany and the world in regular e-mail newsletters. You can sign up here for the weekly "Berlin Briefing" and more.