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Germany has opened its floating liquefied pure gasoline terminal within the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, marking a vital milestone in its quest for power independence from Russia.
Olaf Scholz, chancellor, inaugurated the Høegh Esperanza floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), considered one of 5 that the German authorities has contracted to fill the power hole that fashioned after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
“This can be a crucial contribution to our safety . . . and an excellent day for Germany,” Scholz mentioned in Wilhelmshaven.
The Esperanza, a specialised ship the size of practically three soccer fields, is carrying 170mn cubic meters of LNG, a lot of it initially from the US — sufficient to produce 50,000 households with gasoline for a yr. Over the approaching weeks it is going to be reconverted to gasoline and fed into Germany’s onshore pipeline community.
Moscow’s determination to drastically scale back gasoline exports to Germany in the course of the summer time plunged Europe’s largest economic system into its worst power disaster because the second world warfare. Earlier than the invasion of Ukraine, Russia accounted for greater than half of Germany’s gasoline imports.
Berlin’s efforts to discover a substitute have been impeded by its full lack of LNG import infrastructure and its close to complete reliance on pipelines reminiscent of Nord Stream 1 that introduced gasoline instantly from Russia. Because the begin of the yr Scholz’s authorities has expended enormous effort — and spent billions of taxpayer euros — on rectifying that.
It contracted 5 FSRUs, every with a capability of 5bn cubic meters a yr of gasoline. It additionally pushed by the development of recent everlasting LNG import terminals, considered one of which will probably be in-built Wilhelmshaven.
“Russia’s president Putin thought he might blackmail us by switching off the gasoline provide,” Scholz mentioned. “He was flawed.”
The chancellor added that Germany would quickly have an LNG import capability of 30 bcm/y on its northern coasts. “That’s equal to greater than half of your complete quantity of pipeline gasoline that flowed to Germany from Russia final yr,” he mentioned.
The infrastructure for the Wilhelmshaven FSRU was in-built 10 months — a document for a rustic the place huge power tasks are inclined to take years to finish.
“After we mentioned such a terminal ought to be in-built Wilhelmshaven this yr, folks mentioned that’ll by no means be doable, that’ll by no means succeed,” Scholz mentioned. “And the other is true.”
“That’s now the brand new tempo with which Germany is driving infrastructure tasks, and it ought to be a mannequin — not only for this facility, however for a lot of others, too,” he mentioned.
The Esperanza will probably be supplemented by a second FSRU, the Høegh Gannet, which is able to go into operation within the close by port of Brunsbüttel in January. A 3rd, personal, FSRU — the Neptune — will probably be inaugurated in Lubmin on the Baltic Beach later this month.
“This can be a milestone for Germany changing into power impartial,” Erik Nyheim, chief govt of Höegh LNG, which owns the Esperanza, Gannet and Neptune, informed the Monetary Instances.
Nyheim mentioned the Höegh Esperanza, Gannet and Neptune would have a mixed regasification capability of 17.5bn cubic meters a yr, representing “a major contribution” to Germany’s power provide. It’s a couple of third of the amount of gasoline — 50 bcm — that the nation imported from Russia final yr.
Nyheim mentioned that Höegh can have 5 FSRUs deployed in Europe by subsequent yr — half of its fleet — because the continent ramps up its LNG import capability.
Local weather activists have mentioned the investments in new LNG infrastructure don’t make sense when the EU is looking for to go carbon impartial by 2050 and scale back its emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 in contrast with 1990 ranges.
“We’re threatened with large overcapacity and lock-in results — though gasoline consumption in Germany has to fall dramatically within the coming years,” mentioned Sascha Müller-Kraenner, head of German Environmental Assist.
Nyheim mentioned with Russian provides dropping to close zero, there was little various to the brand new import terminals.
“Final yr, Europe imported 150bn cubic meters of gasoline from Russia,” he mentioned. “That now needs to be changed by LNG.”
Olaf Lies, economic system minister for Decrease Saxony, the state wherein Wilhelmshaven is positioned, mentioned concern about overcapacity was misplaced. “The concern isn’t this winter,” he mentioned. “We’ve to maintain any eye on the winter of 2023-4, which we received’t go into with the well-filled storage that we have now this yr.”
“That’s why Germany wants the terminals.”
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