Germany frees itself from Putin's gas: New LNG terminal starts!

Germany frees itself from Putin's gas: New LNG terminal starts!

Finally the time has come: Germany put a sixth floating LNG terminal into operation in Wilhelmshaven. This is a significant step at a time when the dependence on Russian natural gas is strongly criticized. After the Ukraine War, Germany decided to completely stop gas imports from Russia. The new terminal should help increase the import of liquefied gas (LNG) and to secure energy supply for households and industry. According to Fr.

Overall, the strategy is clear: With the six LNG terminals at various locations, Germany wants to convert around 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the future. This corresponds to almost half of the natural gas that was imported from Russia in 2021. The LNG terminals are located in Wilhelmshaven (two terminals), Stade, Brunsbüttel, Lubmin and Mukran. These terminals are not only logistical nodes, they save and convert liquid gas in gaseous condition before it is fed into the gas network.

The departure from Russian natural gas brought a significant change in the German energy sector. The Ukraine War has raised awareness of the need to diversify the energy supply. From the end of 2022, Germany increased LNG from other countries, and the construction of the LNG terminals was massively accelerated by the LNG acceleration law in June 2022. fluessiggas.de emphasizes that LNG-Termine is considered safe because they are stored in isolated tanks and the liquefied gas is non-toxic.

The figures from 2022 show that natural gas covered almost 24% of the energy requirement in Germany, with industry being over 35% and private households with 31% being the main consumers. An upswing in LNG use is necessary to ensure the dwindling dependence on Russian imports. In 2023, the statistics were that 42% of the natural gas via pipelines from Norway and 23% were imported from Belgium. However, the feed-in from its own LNG terminals contributed only 5% to energy supply. This is still in the Argen, but has to be moved urgently.

Future view

The experts agree: A year after the Russian attack on Ukraine, energy supply in Germany is secured without Russian natural gas. A diversification of the sources and savings of the consumption pattern helped. diw.de reports that the further expansion of LNG terminals is not considered necessary. The plans for fixed onshore installations come across skepticism-one does not want to think about long-term dependencies on LNG, especially since the exit from fossil fuels is sought.

The future therefore looks like that German energy policy relies on a more sustainable and environmentally conscious orientation. It remains exciting how the situation develops and how long the LNG terminals are really needed. The discussion about climate goals will also not be absent, because Germany has decided to get out of fossil fuels up to the early 2040s. These are challenges that leave a lot of space for discussions.