Uniper Cancels Wilhelmshaven LNG terminalSee this news release about Uniper, Pieridae's customer in Germany, cancelling the planned Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal... Tghis will tighten the noose around Pieridae's neck and reduce o[ptions...
Berlin, 16.4.2021: After long resistance from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and local groups, as well as a lack of market demand, energy company Uniper this week confirmed the final cancellation of the planned LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven. DUH welcomes the cancellation of plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal, the operation of which would have involved the import of fracking gas, which is particularly harmful to the climate and the environment. Instead, Uniper has announced feasibility studies for building a hydrogen infrastructure and importing ammonia. DUH believes that examining alternative options for building a hydrogen economy is the right way to go, but urges compliance with strict environmental and safety standards.
Sascha Mller-Kraenner, DUH's national managing director, said, "The final cancellation of the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven is a bombshell. This throws the plans for the LNG terminals in Brunsbttel and Stade into even greater disarray: there is no energy industry need for these terminals either, and importing fracked gas is incompatible with climate targets anyway. The operators from Brunsbttel and Stade must now ask themselves how they can continue their planning in the face of this wake-up call. Uniper has decided to take the right step by canceling. The alternatives must now be carefully examined. The focus must be on whether they contribute to climate targets and are safe."
According to its own statements, Uniper now wants to examine the construction of a landing terminal for ammonia and the construction of a so-called ammonia cracker in a feasibility study. In the cracker, hydrogen can be produced from the ammonia. The construction of an electrolyzer for the production of green hydrogen from renewable energies is also to be examined. The ammonia is also to come from renewable energy - but the sources of supply remain unclear.
Constantin Zerger, Head of Energy and Climate Protection at DUH: "With the cancellation of the LNG terminal and the examination of alternatives, Uniper is taking the right path. However, whether the announced infrastructure for ammonia is actually the best solution must be examined carefully and with an open mind in the upcoming feasibility studies. Ammonia is extremely explosive and toxic. We are also concerned about its origin: although ammonia can be produced from renewable energies, this process is extremely energy-intensive and the required quantities will not be available in the foreseeable future. In any case, it only makes sense to import it from countries that have a surplus of renewable energies. If renewable ammonia is imported to Germany with high conversion losses, but fossil power plants continue to smoke in the country of origin, nothing is gained for the climate."
DUH, together with local initiatives, has long opposed plans to build an LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven and warned against the import of fracked gas. In 2019, DUH had published a legal opinion according to which an LNG terminal at the planned site in the Jade estuary would not be approvable for reasons of climate and nature protection as well as the law on hazardous incidents. DUH will continue to support the feasibility studies for an ammonia or hydrogen infrastructure in Wilhelmshaven.