German government decides on location for controversial LNG terminal in the Baltic Sea

The German government has decided on a site for a controversial floating LNG terminal on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. This appears to reduce uncertainty surrounding the project, which had been compounded by the postponement of a decision on including the facility in a law aimed at accelerating the construction of LNG terminals. The news was reported by the foreign news outlet Clean Energy Wire.

Germany’s public broadcaster NDR reported, based on a letter from Economy Minister Robert Habeck to the government of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that it has seen, that the new floating LNG terminal on the island of Rügen is to be built at the port of Mukran. The project is also expected to include a 50 km pipeline link to Lubmin in northern Germany.

Habeck continues to justify the need to build the new LNG terminal by pointing to the ongoing tense situation in natural gas supply and the need for sufficient LNG import capacity in the short term.