The third floating liquefied natural gas terminal for Germany, Hoe Gannett, arrived in Brunsbüttel at the end of last week. Federal Minister of Economy Robert Habeck (Greens) and Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein Daniel Gunter (CDU) were present, but did not want to explain the shortcomings of the government’s mega-project.

The federal government is actively promoting the construction of LNG import capacity to ensure Germany’s security of supply in the future. To this end, it has leased five of its seven terminals, two of which are currently in operation, in Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony and in Lubmin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

On Friday, the third floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal arrived in Brunsbüttel. The initial annual import capacity of the three facilities is approximately 14 billion cubic meters. In total, 11 LNG terminals should be operational by 2026, three of which are planned as stationary.

Independence and excessive caution

Before the attack on Ukraine, Russia supplied 55% of local gas needs. About 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas flowed to Germany through the Nord Stream-1 gas pipeline.

According to the federal government, the stated goal is independence from Russian oil, gas and coal in the short term. A third of current gas needs can be covered by floating LNG terminals.

The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, doubts the need for all the planned liquefied gas import terminals. “It’s right to prepare for an extremely cold winter and plan for cuts,” Mueller told digital media company Table.Media, “But I think looking at the first winter without the Russian pipeline, we’ll be watching the statistics more closely.”

With his current statements, Müller also confirms the assessments of other experts who criticized the scope of the terminal’s construction. This means that much more power is being created than is needed. “If all the plans for LNG come to fruition, a bad investment of taxpayers’ money can be predicted,” commented Tagesschau.de.

Chlorine spilled into the sea

Environmentalists also warn of possible consequences for the environment and climate. The LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven is almost complete. Environmentalists say that on December 22, the Höegh Esperanza injected gas into the German network for the first time “at the expense of the Wadden Sea”. They criticize the fact that Höegh Esperanza is planned as the first LNG import terminal.

In 2019, the Australian authorities even rejected the ship due to the fact that its pipes need to be washed with chlorine. Chlorine is then discharged untreated from the ship into the North Sea, and its volume will be approx. 35 tons of the chemical is dumped into the water per year, reports NDR.de.

Billions of public money

It is planned to build eleven LNG terminals in Germany. Eight of these terminals are dedicated, chartered vessels. In addition to Wilhelmshaven, they will be located in Stade, Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and Brunsbüttel (Schleswig-Holstein).

The federal government wants to lease five so-called floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs). The Federal Ministry of Economy estimates the costs of floating LNG terminals at 9.7 billion euros for the period 2022-2038.

By 2026, it is planned to build three permanent terminals on the site (Wilhelmsgafen, Stade, Brunsbüttel). The annual capacity of all plants should be 73 billion cubic meters of natural gas.