MPs react to letter on LNG terminal on Rügen
Opponents of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Mukran on the island of Rügen have received support from the Bundestag, from both the coalition and the opposition. "We should not overshoot the mark and create new investment ruins," warned Green politician Jürgen Trittin in the "Tagesspiegel". The former Federal Environment Minister said that he saw no reason for further terminals thanks to the work of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). "Germany's gas supply is secure. The fear scenarios that are currently circulating are based on completely unrealistic assumptions," said Trittin.
Ueckermünde CDU member of parliament Philipp Amthor also doubts the need for another LNG terminal on the Baltic coast: "As my CDU parliamentary group in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has discovered that only eight of the 41 tankers originally planned for Lubmin have unloaded LNG there so far this year, doubts about the need for a new terminal are more than justified," he is quoted as saying by the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper. It was up to those who had drummed up support for the project "to prove the plausibility of the necessity of the planned investments". Amthor also expressed fundamental criticism: "Unfortunately, when it comes to green energy policy, the question regularly arises as to whether facts can prevail over ideology. This is also the case with the controversial LNG terminal off Rügen."
Last week, the mayor of the seaside resort of Binz, Karsten Schneider, wrote a letter to members of the German Bundestag calling for the project to be halted. "The need for an LNG terminal on Rügen is de facto no longer given," he stated in the letter, referring to full gas storage facilities at the start of the heating season. Even the Federal Network Agency considers the national gas supply security to be stable, wrote Schneider. Existing LNG terminals have only been utilized to 58 percent capacity so far this year.
Schneider is one of the most outspoken opponents of the terminal on Rügen. He fears that the construction and operation of the gas landing station in Mukran will have a negative impact on the environment and nature, as well as causing lasting damage to tourism on the island.
Terminals for importing LNG delivered by ship are intended to secure the gas supply for Germany and other countries after Russia stopped supplying gas by pipeline last year. Plants are already in operation in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel on the North Sea and in Lubmin near Greifswald.
Municipalities along the Baltic coast should consider the environmental impact of constructing additional LNG terminals, as suggested by the mayor of Binz. The Bundestag's Energy Committee should carefully evaluate the need for new LNG terminals given the current low utilization rates of existing ones.
Source: www.dpa.com
