Hamburg – On 22 June 2023, the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the action brought by environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe against the planning resolution of the Department of Mining, Energy and Geology of 19 August 2022 relating to construction and operation of the Wilhelmshaven LNG Connector Pipeline (“WAL”).
A CMS team headed by Dr Christiane Kappes represented the proponent, Open Grid Europe (OGE), as summoned party in the proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court. OGE operates a 12,000-kilometre long-distance gas grid, which is the most extensive network in Germany. The team had previously advised OGE on all aspects of the planning approval procedure for the WAL.
The WAL connects the LNG terminal operated by Uniper SE in Wilhelmshaven (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit – FSRU) to the existing long-distance gas grid. This first LNG project to be realised in Germany will feed an annual volume of at least five billion cubic metres of natural gas into the German gas grid. The WAL will thus replace some of the previous gas imports from Russia and make a significant contribution to energy security.
The Federal Administrative Court rejected the objections to the planning resolution. It held that the planning resolution had given adequate consideration to the project’s impact on the global climate. Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the subsequent consumption of the gas are not attributable to the pipeline project. Furthermore, neither the directive principle of the German constitution as laid down in Art. 20a of the Basic Law (GG) nor the specific details under sub-constitutional law of the requirement to take climate change aspects into consideration as stipulated in the Federal Climate Change Act (KSG) give rise to an obligation, as demanded by the claimant, to restrict operation of the pipeline to green hydrogen and its derivatives from as early as 2033. In the LNG Facilitation Act, the German parliament took a fundamental decision on energy policy aimed at securing the energy supply by allowing the use of liquefied natural gas in the long-distance gas grid. Parliament’s decision means that the LNG connection pipeline may be used to transport natural gas until 31 December 2043. This legislation precludes a planning authority from stipulating a shorter time limit for switching the pipeline to green hydrogen or its derivatives.
The Federal Administrative Court case reference is 7 A 9/22.
CMS Germany
Dr Christiane Kappes, Lead Partner
Dr Neele Christiansen, Partner
Dr Insa Nutzhorn, Principal Counsel
Dr Lisa Rueß, Associate, all Environmental and Planning Law
Pressekontakt
presse@cms-hs.com
