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The plan is in danger of exploding after the letter to Robert Habeck

In the letter to Habeck, however, the Hanseatic city’s energy senator should list several points that stand in the way of the project:

  • Missing operator: “By mid-September, an operator is needed to submit all authorization applications in good time,” the newspaper quoted in the letter to Habeck. One is in talks with Shell, but needs federal government financial security for a possible operator loss.
  • Missing water depth: According to the report, the bathtub at the Moorburg pier should be deepened, 500,000 cubic meters of silt should be dredged. According to “Abendblatt”, the city wants the federal government to provide storage areas and bear the costs.
  • Effects on port operations: If LNG is to be transported through the Süderelbe, this area must be designated as a tanker port. This would severely limit the remaining maritime traffic. It would be a problem, especially for companies, including a refinery, in Harburg. “It is very likely that these companies will seek compensation,” Kerstan is said to have written to Habeck.
  • High costs: According to the “Abendblatt”, four million euros would be due for the design and feasibility study, and another 30 million euros would be needed for construction. Kerstan should also ask the federal government to intervene here.

Asked by the newspaper, the Berlin ministry declined to comment: “various options for the position” would be examined. In order for the terminal to go online in the spring of 2023 as planned, quick decisions would have to be made.

“All of these points in the letter were known in advance, it’s no surprise to anyone. The federal government knew this from the start,” Kerstan told NDR. There is no answer yet, he believes a decision will be made in the next two weeks.

Hamburg Senators Disagree Over LNG – Opposition Criticism

The Hamburg Senate is by no means united on the subject: Nonpartisan economics senator Michael Westhagemann prefers to produce hydrogen in Moorburg as quickly as possible. The plans for this are already in the drawer. “Most of the traffic lights are red,” Westhagemann told NDR, which Kerstan was surprised by. Westhagemann should think not only of the port companies, but also of those suffering from high gas prices.

“The basic functions of the Port of Hamburg, such as its accessibility, must not be exploited,” Gunther Bonz, president of the Port of Hamburg Business Association, told the “Abendblatt”. It is said that parts of the Süderelbe should be temporarily closed upon delivery of the LNG.

CDU and FDP criticize the disagreement in the Senate. “Senator Kerstan’s solo effort for the environment shows the entire impotence of the Senate in the field of energy management,” port expert Götz Wiese (CDU) told the “Abendblatt”. FDP head of state Michael Kruse accuses the government of acting too slowly: “The Senate did not do any work when allocating the new terminal infrastructure and even angered the public with contradictory statements.”

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