Germany: plans for a new LNG hub near Rügen

Summary:

On 13 February 2023, the minister for economic affairs of Germany's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region unveiled plans to build infrastructure for another floating LNG terminal: this will be the Transgas Power unit, to be leased on behalf of the federal government from the Greek shipowner Dynagas, with Lubmin as its designated location. The company behind the venture is RWE, which will jointly operate the terminal with Norway’s Stena Power. Unlike other FSRU (Floating Storage Regasification Unit) projects in Germany, the new unit will not be built at a wharf or a port, but will instead be hooked up to a special offshore platform constructed in the Baltic Sea, some 5–6 km east of the island of Rügen.

The procedures to obtain of the necessary permits should pass rapidly thanks to the special federal LNG infrastructure law which Germany adopted in 2022. However, it is possible that an amendment to the law will be needed for the smooth implementation of the investment: although the current law provides for the fast tracking of projects in certain locations (including Lubmin), the infrastructure is to be built tens of kilometres from the village itself.