LUBMIN, Germany — Standing onstage in a tastefully lit auditorium just north of Lubmin on Germany’s Baltic coast, Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev were all smiles. It was November 8, 2011, and the scene was set for a geopoliticalRubbing shoulders with the German chancellor and the Russian president were French Prime Minister François Fillon, Dutch premier Mark Rutte and Günther Oettinger, the EU’s energy commissioner.
Although LNG supplies are uncertain — and currently expensive — they represent Europe’s best hope for energy security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended global markets. For Germany, that transformation too begins in Lubmin. The need for change is recognized even by those in the town who used to be cheerleaders for Nord Stream.
But even he, a former advocate for the €7.4 billion Nord Stream 1 and its ill-fated sister project Nord Stream 2 now recognizes the limits of Europe’s previous approach. “Two hundred and eighty three meters long, 44 meters wide, above 40 meters [high] … like a big cruise ship,” Vogt says. “She is originally from the Far East, coming through the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and will now sail towards the Baltic.”Deutsche ReGas, according to the private company that will operate Lubmin’s Deutsche Ostsee LNG terminal, confirmed. A so-called floating storage and regasification unit, thecan store gas in its liquefied state at around minus 160 degrees Celsius.
LNG dependency will not be without its risks, Zachmann said. Supply is anticipated to be tight in 2023, according to several leading experts the International Energy Agency’s Executive Director Fatih Birol. And the climate implications of locking Europe into further, potentially long-term contracts for gas are obvious. “European governments used to tell everybody to ‘keep it in the ground.’ Now we are asking people to ‘dig, dig, dig.’ That’s a bit worrisome,” Zachmann said.
Just found out my tiny German town energy provider eswe is trying to charge 700 euro a month for gas / home heating
1thing I’ve noticed throughout my years, humans are like water, they ALWAYS choose the path of least resistance. It doesn’t matter knowledge or wisdom, least resistance is ALWAYS their way.
Israel is definitely changing that!!
I blame Angela Merkel for Europe's dependency on Russian fossil fuels.