Associations want a construction stop for the Rügen LNG terminal. That would seriously disrupt the tight schedule. Now the LNG opponents have suffered a setback. It’s also about Nord Stream 2 again.
The Rügen terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) can continue to be built – or rather the connection pipeline that will connect the terminal to the gas network. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) failed to achieve its goal of stopping construction before the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. The court said it rejected a corresponding application.
This means that the special ship “Castoro 10” can continue the pipeline construction in the Greifswald Bodden that started at the beginning of the week. The line will be around 50 kilometers long, from the gas pipeline junction in Lubmin, where the German-Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 also land, through the lagoon, around the southeast of Rügen to Mukran in the north of the island. Here, two special ships are supposed to bring the LNG delivered by ship back into the gaseous state and feed it in.
The federal government is aiming for the controversial terminal to be operational next winter – a tight schedule. Work and approvals are carried out at a rapid pace and too quickly for critics. They talk about unneeded excess capacity and see the environment and tourism, which is important for Rügen, at risk.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens), however, only defended the project on Wednesday as the best of the difficult options. “The bottom line is that this is a project that is part of the national energy security strategy.” Even if the gas supply emergency has been averted, it has not been overcome.
Court rejects DUH lawsuit
After a summary review, the Federal Administrative Court also announced that the approval in question rightly assumes that the gas supply crisis will continue with a view to the coming heating periods. It also cites the assessment of the Federal Network Agency, which sees an additional need for feed-in options for LNG. The DUH therefore failed to shake this assessment. The prospect of success of the DUH lawsuit appears to be “probably unfounded at the moment”. The application for interim legal protection was therefore also rejected.
The lawsuit itself, which is directed against the approval of the first lake section of the connection in August, has not yet been decided. In addition, corresponding lawsuits including urgent applications from the municipality of Binz and the Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) are pending in Leipzig.
“We will demand full access from the Federal Administrative Court to all existing files and reports and present our ongoing concerns regarding nature and climate protection in the upcoming main proceedings,” said DUH Federal Managing Director Sascha Müller-Kraenner.
The DUH is also concerned with documents that come from the approval for Nord Stream 2. This is the only way to ensure a fair procedure, as the authority responsible for the LNG project relies on appropriate reports. Müller-Kraenner spoke of outdated environmental reports.
The reports would not be the only parallel to Nord Stream 2. The “Castoro 10” had already laid pipes for Nord Stream 1 and 2. It is also currently sinking tubes that come from Nord Stream 2 and have not been used. The federal government bought them for the LNG project.
Source: Stern
