A German environmental affiliation has filed a lawsuit towards the lately inaugurated Wilhelmshaven liquefied gasoline terminal searching for a lowered mission lifetime and a ban on chemical-based pipe cleansing.

Wilhelmshaven is one among a number of deliberate LNG terminals in Germany, all utilizing floating storage and regasification items, and was fast-tracked into operation so as to diversify power sources and scale back dependence on disrupted Russian piped gasoline flows.

Commissioning of the Uniper-operated terminal is ongoing, with the Hoegh Esperanza FSRU arriving in December, and the mission final week acquired its commissioning cargo from the 174,000 cubic metre Liberia-flagged Maria Power LNG service.

Non-profit group Deutsche Umwelthilfe on Tuesday introduced a declare to the native environmental authority towards the terminal on two grounds – the size of the working licence for the positioning and using chlorine within the course of.

“The issue now we have is the lifetime of the [Wilhelmshaven] operation,” Sascha Muller-Kraenner, federal managing director at Deutsche Umwelthilfe informed Upstream, arguing that the positioning ought to be allowed to course of LNG just for 10 years, subsequently switching to hydrogen or different renewable fuels.

The present licence stipulates the terminal can function till 2043, however the group argues the timeline ought to be shortened to adjust to the nation’s power transition targets.

“We would like a legally binding limitation of the allow to deal with fossil gasoline [at the terminal] for 10 years, till the top of 2032,” Muller-Kraenner mentioned.

“German legislation goals to attain full decarbonisation of the German financial system by 2045. You may’t begin with that in 2043, it’s means too late. You need to begin now.”

Chlorine menace

The opposite topic of the declare is the authorised used of chlorine as a cleansing agent for the seawater pipe system that can allow regasification of the LNG previous to injection into the onshore grid.

The group argues the discharge of chlorine within the native waters throughout common pipe cleansing is a menace to the native marine habitat and have to be changed with various strategies which are employed by different FSRUs.

“We request that the terminal be refitted with cleansing expertise that doesn’t launch biocides within the sea,” mentioned Muller-Kraenner. He cited the Brunsbuttel LNG mission for example: “All different LNG terminals, like Brunsbuttel, are operated with out chlorine.

“There are applied sciences available on the market to do it with out biocides.”

The group expects a response to its declare from the authority within the coming weeks – within the case of a damaging reply, the matter shall be taken to court docket.