- Backhaus wants information from the Federal Government on gas supply
Delays in the commissioning of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Mukran on the island of Rügen have reignited the debate over the need for a gas import port on Germany's Baltic coast.
The project, which went ahead against the wishes of local residents and with environmental consequences, now faces a lack of demand. "No one wants it, no one needs it: The LNG terminal on Rügen is a costly and unnecessary investment," said Constantin Zerger of the German Environmental Aid. Germany's gas storage facilities are full, and the feared shortage never materialized.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Minister for the Environment, Till Backhaus (SPD), maintains his critical stance on the project. A spokesperson for his ministry said Backhaus plans to contact Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) again to find out if the federal government still sees the risk of a gas shortage. After intense protests on Rügen against the terminal's construction, the state government also spoke out against the project, but the state authorities were bound by guidelines from Berlin. Backhaus emphasized that the environmental impact assessments were conducted in a rule-of-law procedure without external interference.
The federal government had pushed for the expansion of LNG import infrastructure in the form of terminals on the North and Baltic Seas in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine, aiming to become independent of Russian gas supplies. The threat of a shortage was the key reason why Mukran was included in the LNG Acceleration Act, which significantly sped up the planning and construction of the terminal. The environmental ministry in Schwerin had already granted a permit for continuous operation in April, with the operator Deutsche Regas announcing the start for May. However, commissioning has not yet taken place.
The lack of demand for the LNG terminal in Mukran is raising questions about its necessity, with Constantin Zerger stating it as a costly and unnecessary investment. Despite Germany's gas storage facilities being full and the feared shortage not materializing, Till Backhaus, the Minister for Environment in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, still holds concerns and plans to contact Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck to discuss the federal government's perspective on the potential gas shortage risk.
