Berlin

Hamburg – On 25 April 2024, Germany’s Federal Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuits brought by environmental groups Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) and NABU against the planning approval granted by Stralsund Department of Mining on 21 August 2023 for the construction and operation of the first marine section of the Baltic Connector Pipeline (Ostsee An­bindungslei­tung – OAL).A CMS team headed by Dr Christiane Kappes and Dr Neele Christiansen represented the proponent, GASCADE Gastransport GmbH (GASCADE), as summoned party in the proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court. GASCADE operates a natural gas pipeline system in Germany with a total length of around 3,700 kilometres. The team previously advised GASCADE on all aspects of the planning approval procedure for the OAL. At around 50 kilometres long, the OAL offshore pipeline connects the LNG terminal planned by Deutsche ReGas (Floating Storage and Regasification Unit – FSRU) for Mukran on the island of Rügen to the existing long-distance gas grid in Lubmin. This LNG project is set to feed at least ten billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from the OAL into the German gas grid, replacing some of the previous gas imports from Russia and making a significant contribution to energy security. The Federal Administrative Court rejected all the claimants’ objections to the legality of the planning approval. Realising the OAL as quickly as possible serves the key purpose of ensuring a secure and diversified gas supply in Germany. Overriding public interest and the need for public security make the project essential. Fast-tracking its approval is an appropriate way to deal with the continuing gas supply crisis resulting from suspension of Russian gas supplies and destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline. Under the facilitation provisions of the LNG Facilitation Act (LNG-Beschleuni­gungs­ge­setz – LNGG), no environmental impact assessment was therefore required for the OAL. The project is also compatible with current law on the protection of nature and wildlife. No issues were found with the environmental assessment of temporary loss of function for reefs protected by law or the review of the con­struc­tion-re­lated impact on marine mammals and birds on rest stops. The Court held that the planning resolution had also given adequate consideration to the project’s impact on the global climate. The Federal Administrative Court has thus confirmed its previous urgent decisions in which it dismissed several fast-track actions brought by environmental groups DUH and NABU in recent months (BVerwG 7 VR 4.23, 7 VR 6.23, 7 VR 1.24, 7 VR 2.24). The Federal Administrative Court’s case references are 7 A 9.23 and 7 A 11.23. CMS Germany Dr Christiane Kappes, Partner Dr Neele Christiansen, Part­ner Se­basti­an Belz, Counsel Knut Göring-Tisch, Associate Dr Lisa Rueß, Associate, all Real Estate & PublicPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com

Advertising of pharmaceuticals and medical devices is a challenging area for the Life Sciences and Healthcare industry. The legal framework is constantly changing. Due to very few laws on this area, there...

We are delighted to present the 7th edition of the CMS Guide to Anti-Bribery and Corruption Laws. Guide is now available in both offline PDF format and online on our website. The purpose of the Guide...

Hamburg – Vattenfall has sold 49% of its shares in the Nordlicht 1 and Nordlicht 2 wind farm projects to BASF. The wind farm zone consists of two separate sites and is located in the German section of the North Sea, around 85 kilometres north of the island of Borkum. The two sites, Nordlicht 1 and Nordlicht 2, have planned capacities of approximately 980 MW and 630 MW, respectively. Full commissioning is scheduled for 2028, when a total of around six terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity is expected to be generated per year, enough to power 1.6 million German households. This makes the Nordlicht wind project the biggest offshore wind farm project that Vattenfall has realised to date. Construction is expected to start in 2026, subject to the final investment decision. Vattenfall is acting as developer and builder of both Nordlicht sites.A CMS team headed by partners Dr Holger Kraft and Dr Jacob Siebert advised Vattenfall on all legal aspects of the transaction. Vattenfall and BASF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the joint project in December of last year, when the CMS team likewise advised Vattenfall. CMS Germany Dr Holger Kraft, Lead Partner Dr Jacob Siebert, Lead Part­ner Dorothée Janzen, Partner, Com­mer­cial Mat­thi­as Sethmann, Principal Counsel Dr Christoph Löffler, Counsel Dr Stefan Kühl, Senior Associate Dr Christian Seeburger, Associate, all Corporate/M&A Dr Niklas Ganssauge, Partner Mathias Cordero, Senior Associate, both Real Estate & Public Christoff Soltau, Partner Dr Denis Schlimpert, Counsel Dr Robert Bodewig, Senior Associate, all Antitrust, Competition & Trade Dr Kerstin Block, Partner, Banking & Finance Prof. Malte Grützmacher, Partner, TMC Dr Nikolas Gregor, Partner, Intellectual Prop­erty Se­basti­an Belz, Counsel Katja Meisel, Senior Associate Knut Göring-Tisch, Associate, all Public Dr Arne Burmester, Principal Counsel  Birgit Wagner, Legal Manager Shae Lynn Washington, Legal Co­ordin­at­or  Sarah Przybylski, Senior Legal Specialist Edris Trabzadah, Senior Legal Specialist Jule Marie Holz, Legal Specialist, all Smart OperationsPress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com

Frankfurt/Main – QUARTERBACK Immobilien AG has entered into a EUR 125 million credit agreement with Deutsche Bank AG. The agreed loan will be used for acquiring renewable energy projects at an advanced stage of development, with a focus on solar. This will support the expansion of QUARTERBACK’s renewable energy business. The credit line will enable the energy developer to rapidly progress solar projects with power generation potential totalling around two gigawatts. These projects will then be sold to institutional equity investors. The initial funding has already been paid out and allocated.A CMS team headed by lead partner Dr Markus Pfaff advised QUARTERBACK on all legal aspects of the project financing. Leipzig-based QUARTERBACK Immobilien AG specialises in project development and realisation, property maintenance, portfolio expansion, administration and facility management. In the renewable energy space, the company develops large-scale solar plants for institutional investors, energy service providers and for its own power generation needs. It currently has a pipeline of around five gigawatts. CMS partner Dr Jochen Lux has been advising the QUARTERBACK Group for some time now on the acquisition and sale of development projects involving real estate and new energy. CMS Germany Dr Markus Pfaff, Lead Partner Dr André Frischemeier, Partner Hatice Akyel, Counsel Thomas Schaak, Senior Associate, all Banking & FinancePress Con­tact presse@cms-hs. com