DIt is widely known that energy, food, building materials and many other things have become significantly more expensive. However, the terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which the federal government is currently building at high pressure on Germany’s coasts, have experienced a price increase of a special kind. Federal costs for these systems have more than doubled, according to documents from a budget committee meeting. Instead of 2.94 billion euros as planned in the spring, 6.56 billion euros have now been calculated for this year alone. The LNG inflation thus amounts to 123 percent – in contrast, the 10 percent general inflation seems almost low.
Other European countries have had an infrastructure for liquefied gas for years, but companies in Germany resisted the idea for a long time. It was only when the federal government announced the prospect of significant state support after the start of the Ukraine war in the spring that things started to move. At first there was talk of two systems, but now the number has risen to seven. Most of these are floating terminals, so-called FSRUs. These can be erected more quickly than facilities on land. A floating terminal in Wilhelmshaven is already finished. The first LNG tankers are to dock there around the turn of the year 2022/2023. The liquid gas is then converted back into gas and fed into the grid.