On November 14, 2024, the Federal Administrative Court, Germany's highest court for administrative law disputes, dismissed the case brought by an environmental NGO against the emission control permit for the LNG terminal in the industrial port of Lubmin. The ruling by the 7th Senate (case no. 7 A 8.23) is the first decision in main proceedings by a German court on an LNG terminal. Hengeler Mueller represented the operator and permit holder Deutsche ReGas GmbH & Co. KGaA in the proceedings.
The court confirmed that the approval procedure has been conducted by the State Office for Agriculture and Environment Vorpommern under the LNG Acceleration Act in accordance with the applicable laws and rejected all objections raised by the plaintiff. The court identified no safety risks, unacceptable noise emissions or relevant adverse effects on the flora and fauna in the Greifswald Bodden.
At the peak of the energy supply crisis in 2022, Deutsche ReGas planned and implemented the Lubmin LNG terminal at record speed within just a few months. The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) MS Neptune, now in operation at the Mukran energy terminal, has covered the gas consumption of 1.3 million households via the Lubmin feed-in point, thereby making an important contribution to security of supply in Germany.
The terminal at the Lubmin feed-in point is a priority project for security of supply in accordance with the LNG Acceleration Act. The Federal Administrative Court decides on disputes regarding the operating permit for the terminal in the first and last instance. The decision of 14 November 2024 confirms that complex energy infrastructure projects can also be approved and implemented with legal certainty in a short period of time. In this respect, the proceedings are groundbreaking for further projects in the transformation of the energy industry and for accelerating procedures for plant approvals.
Hengeler Mueller is representing Deutsche ReGas in the proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court and advising it comprehensively on the LNG terminals at the Mukran and Lubmin sites, in particular on the aspects of licensing and regulatory law, the financing of the company, cooperation and operational contracts.
Hengeler Mueller team for Deutsche ReGas
Public Law: Jan D. Bonhage (partner, lead, Berlin), Michael Schramm (partner, Düsseldorf), Kevin Marschhäuser, Ursula Dahmen (both associates, all Berlin).