Following the ruling on 31 May 2021 from The Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board to repeal the environmental permit for the Baltic Pipe Project, Energinet enacted a temporary shutdown of construction. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has now stated that it has no objections to Energinets plans to resume construction on parts of the project.
Energinet can resume construction on the landline across the island of Zealand, the eastern part of the island of Funen and the part of the landline from the danish west coast to the Nybro Gas Terminal. Construction can also be resumed on the Nybro Terminal itself and on the new compressor station at Everdrup on Zealand.
Construction on the pipeline on the western part of Funen and the eastern part of mainland Jutland from the existing compressor station in Egtved to the Little Belt strait will be stopped until a new environmental permit has been issued. Construction on the electrical supply to the compressor station at Everdrup will also have to wait for a new permit.
Overall construction can thus resume on a majority of the 210-kilometer landline across Denmark. But the ruling from The Danish Environmental and Food Appeals Board means that construction on the western part of Funen and eastern part of Jutland will be postponed until 2022.
It is Energinet’s assessment that the Baltic Pipe Project faces an overall delay of 3 months. In 2018 Energinet and its polish partners GAZ-System agreed that Baltic Pipe were to be operational by October 2022 and able to transport 10 BCM. Baltic Pipe will deliver Norwegian natural gas to Polish consumers and lessen Polish dependance on Russian natural gas.
– We are working very hard to finish as much as possible to be able to deliver a large part of the agreed upon capacity by the original deadline, says Marian Kaagh, Vice President of projects in Energinet.
She explains that the new parts of Baltic Pipe combined with the existing danish transmission system will enable Energinet to transport gas to Poland from October 2022, while Energinet works towards full capacity by the end of 2022.
The statement from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency means that construction works can be resumed and that contractors will man their machines again in the western part of Jutland, eastern Funen, and Zealand.
Energinet is particularly pleased that a large part of the construction can be completed as planned and that additional inconvenience for landowners can be avoided.
– Baltic Pipe is an important project for Denmark and for energy supply in Central- and Eastern Europe, but we are fully aware that most landowners would rather that the project did not affect them. It is very important for me, that we can finish as planned in several locations. On the other hand, I am very sorry that some landowners are facing delays. We will be contacting the landowners to explain how the recent developments will affect work on their land, says Marian Kaagh.
Energinet is working to clarify the economic consequences of the temporary shut down and the delay on parts of the project.
– We need to thoroughly calculate all of the consequences. When we have n full overview, we will share this with the public, says Marian Kaagh.
Energinet