The German government is planning to build a new terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the port of Mukran on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. This was announced by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) to the Minister of Economic Affairs of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Reinhard Meyer (SPD), in a letter, reported the NDR on Tuesday.
Julian Staib
Political correspondent for Northern Germany and Scandinavia, based in Hamburg.
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According to the report, the federal government plans to submit the necessary applications for approval as early as June, including the approximately 50-kilometre-long pipeline from the port of Mukran through the Bay of Greifswald to the point of entry into the gas grid in Lubmin.
As reported by NDR, Germany's gas supply remains "sewn on edge", according to the federal government, especially if the coming winters are unusually cold. In addition, it is necessary to take precautions in the event that Russia stops the ongoing gas supplies via pipelines on land.
Originally, the German government wanted to build a large LNG terminal off the coast of Rügen. However, there had been resistance to this: thousands protested, a petition was launched, and environmental protection associations warned of an unnecessary and oversized project that endangered nature, climate, fisheries and tourism. At the end of April, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Economics Minister Habeck met with representatives of Rügen's municipalities to discuss the plans.