The Eugal pipeline connects the natural gas receiving station in Lubmin near Greifswald with the gas pressure control and gas measuring system in Deutschneudorf (Saxony) near the Czech border.
(Photo: dpa)
Dusseldorf The politically controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline is not the only cause of controversy when it comes to natural gas infrastructure. A debate has long broken out about whether new lines are still necessary for the transport of fossil fuels to and in Germany.
It is true that the consumption of natural gas in the electricity sector is increasing. But overall, according to numerous studies, thanks to more and more climate-friendly heat sources, it will remain constant over the next ten years – or even decline, depending on the scenario.
The gas network operators still want to expand the transport network in Germany. An additional 1,600 kilometers are to be built by 2030; according to the current network development plan of the Association of Transmission System Operators (FNB Gas), the planned investment volume is just under eight billion euros.
They believe that gas consumption will increase in the next few years and that new pipelines will therefore be needed. Especially since the new pipes can later simply be converted to carry green hydrogen. According to FNB Gas, a nationwide hydrogen network would require lines with a total length of around 5900 kilometers. The highlight: Over 90 percent of the pipeline system is based on the existing natural gas network.
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Critics complain, however, that the existing infrastructure is completely sufficient. Also with a view to the increasing demand for hydrogen. You accuse the transmission system operators of “massive self-interest”. After all, the costs of these bad investments would then be passed on to consumers via the network charges, writes the DIW in Berlin. In the case of natural gas, the costs for new infrastructure projects – similar to the expansion of the electricity network – are ultimately passed on to the consumer with the help of so-called network charges via the gas bill.
Activists and environmentalists are calling for new natural gas infrastructure projects to be stopped completely: “When we talk about green hydrogen, we don’t need to build a natural gas pipeline today. It’s a hydrogen pipeline, ”says climate economist Franziska Hoffart from“ Scientists for Future ”.
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