Environmental permit for Stade LNG terminal (Hanseatic Energy Hub)

The Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht, BVerwG) dismissed an environmental organization’s challenge to the permit for the construction and operation of the Stade onshore LNG terminal, including two storage tanks. The permit, issued on November 1, 2023, authorizes LNG-based operations until December 31, 2043.

The claimant argued, inter alia, that there was no sufficient energy-policy need for continued LNG operation until 2043 and that the duration of the permit was incompatible with Germany’s constitutional climate-protection obligation and the Federal Climate Protection Act (Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz). It also challenged the terminal’s ability to be converted to liquefied ammonia, its safety, and compliance with nature-conservation law.

The BVerwG rejected the claim in its entirety. It held that the permitting authority could not impose an earlier end date than December 31, 2043, the date specified in the LNG Acceleration Act (LNG-Beschleunigungsgesetz). The constitutional obligation to protect the climate and the Federal Climate Protection Act did not require a shorter operating period. The court further held that the question of whether there would be sufficient demand for LNG by the end of the authorization period was irrelevant to the legality of the permit. The operator had sufficiently demonstrated that the facility could subsequently be converted for liquefied ammonia (“Green Gas Ready”) operation. The court also found no decisive safety or nature-conservation concerns.