Hamburg is ready to house a floating terminal for import of LNG meant to assist in making Germany independent of Russian natural gas at a faster pace compared to the country’s planned, land-based LNG terminals.
The German government intends to increase the pace making Germany independent from Russian natural gas by installing four floating terminals for import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the city of Hamburg is offering itself as location for one of the terminals.
According to media Handelsblatt, Germany’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Robert Habeck is in the process of looking for suitable locations for floating terminals that have to be operational soon, while a number of land-based LNG terminals are being built.
Sunday, the government presented plans revealing that EUR 2.94bn have been put aside for the four floating terminals, which are supposed to become operational as quickly as possible in collaboration with energy companies RWE and Uniper.
According to Handelsblatt, the government has already decided where to place two of the terminals, respectively in Wilhelmshaven and Brunsbüttel. Furthermore, Stade, Rostock, Hamburg-Moorburg and Eemshaven in the Netherlands should be under consideration.
If the German government chooses Hamburg, a floating LNG terminal could be ready for operation by the end of the year, says Peter Tschentscher, city mayor, to media Welt. Tschentscher highlights that Hamburg already has an extensive natural gas network in the port area.
The government has a legislative measure underway making it possible to skip some of the environmental preparations in relation to the construction of LNG terminals, thus increasing the pace of construction.
In 2023 at the latest, the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven has to be ready for import of gas.
