Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized

The NewClimate Institute finds that Germany's plan to build eleven LNG terminals with a total capacity of 73 bcm per year far exceeds the amount of gas needed to compensate for lost Russian pipeline imports. The report asserts that with continued energy efficiency and pipeline imports from neighbors, no new LNG terminals would be required. Building all planned terminals would likely result in stranded assets and undermine the energy transition by diverting resources from renewable energy and efficiency measures.

• Germany's planned LNG terminals, totaling eleven with a capacity of approximately 73 bcm per year, provide 50% more gas than the 46 bcm per year previously sourced from Russia.
• The construction of all planned terminals would conflict with Germany's national climate targets, national legislation, and the Paris Agreement, as gas consumption must decline to reach climate neutrality by 2045.
• If pipeline imports from neighboring countries remain stable and energy efficiency measures continue, Germany would not need any new LNG terminals.
• Even if pipeline imports decline (starting at 75 bcm in 2023 and dropping 3% annually), the gap between demand and imports would be no more than 15 bcm per year until 2035, which could be managed via three floating terminals (FSRUs) or further demand reductions.
• Building all planned terminals creates a high risk of stranded assets, as Germany would have the capacity to import nearly two-thirds more fossil gas than it currently consumes, and pipeline gas is generally cheaper than LNG.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2022). Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/plans-for-german-liquefied-natural-gas-terminals-are-massively-oversized

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized. 2022. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/plans-for-german-liquefied-natural-gas-terminals-are-massively-oversized.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized |date=13 December 2022 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/plans-for-german-liquefied-natural-gas-terminals-are-massively-oversized |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2022plans, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Plans for German liquefied natural gas terminals are massively oversized}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/plans-for-german-liquefied-natural-gas-terminals-are-massively-oversized}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }