North Sea Energy Project - Electric power supply for gas platform through wind farm possible
The planned gas exploration platform off Borkum can be powered by electricity from a wind park. The Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz (NLWKN) has approved the modification of an existing permit for the laying of a power cable, as announced by the Lower Saxony Environmental Ministry in Hannover. According to a spokesperson for the ministry in Hannover, the cable can be laid. Environmental activists criticized the laying of the cable, as it could destroy habitats on the seabed.
Part of the modified permit includes a significantly increased compensation for the disturbance of biotopes. A specific amount was not initially mentioned. Furthermore, the use of dredgers was reportedly banned and a gentle laying technique was prescribed. Rocks and stones that are moved for the cable trench must remain nearby to allow new biotopes to form.
The ministry emphasized that the question of whether gas exploration in the German territorial waters is compatible with environmental law was not part of the cable approval process and was not explicitly clarified.
Gas is to be extracted this year
The Dutch energy company One-Dyas plans to extract gas from a field off the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands) as early as 2024. Extraction is planned both in Dutch and German territorial waters, near the National Park Lower Saxony Wadden Sea. For gas exploration, permits from the Netherlands and Germany are required. The highest court in the Netherlands recently gave the green light for this. On the German side, the approval process is still ongoing at the Lower Saxony Ministry for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG).
There has been controversy about the power cable through German waters, which is to supply the future gas exploration platform with green wind energy from the neighboring offshore wind farm Riffgat. The NLWKN had already approved the cable in 2022.
Environmental protection associations file further legal actions
Several environmental protection associations, including the German Environment Aid, filed objections to this, as they believe that the cable would cut through protected underwater biotopes and reef structures. They announced further legal steps on Friday.
The energy company One-Dyas demanded in a recently published letter from the Umweltbundesamt on July 5 that the state government make a decision on the power cable as soon as possible. The installation work on Dutch and German sides are closely linked, it was stated in the letter. Through the supply of the exploration platform with wind energy, according to One-Dyas, almost no harmful emissions will occur during gas exploration.
- The planned energy project in the North Sea, involving a gas exploration platform off Borkum, could be powered by electricity from the nearby wind park.
- The approved modification of the power cable permit by NLWKN aims to ensure a reliable power supply for the energy project.
- The Dutch energy company One-Dyas is planning to extract natural gas from a field off Borkum and Schiermonnikoog, contributing to the Netherlands' power supply.
- Environmental concerns regarding the destruction of seabed habitats and protected biotopes have emerged in relation to the power cable laying process.
- Lower Saxony's State Enterprise, the Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz (NLWKN), emphasizes that the gas exploration project's compatibility with environmental law is an ongoing discussion.
- One-Dyas argues that using wind energy to power the gas exploration platform will significantly reduce emissions, making the project more environmentally friendly.
- In response to the controversy, environmental protection associations in Lower Saxony and beyond have filed further legal actions to challenge the power cable installation in protected areas.
