LNG import terminal Wilhelmshaven – Participation in the planning and preparation of application documents for the planning approval procedure, expert activities during construction and implementation of the sea-side preservation of evidence

Zeitraum:

2022: Technical contribution – morphology, scour development, dredging work as well as assessment of the hydromorphological impact area and hydromorphological preservation of evidence
2023 – 2027: Implementation of the sea-side preservation of evidence concept: currents and morphology

Client:

Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG, Niederlassung Wilhelmshaven

Coastal engineering

Field measurements

Preservation of evidence

Harbour planning

Environmental management

Approval procedures

Hydraulic engineering

After the outbreak of the Ukraine war and the associated loss of Russian gas for the energy supply of the Federal Republic of Germany, there was an urgent need for the construction of an LNG import terminal on the German coast. As early as April 2022, a planning team was therefore formed for the rapid implementation of this project. Within this planning team, the task of IMP was to work on all emerging issues concerning the project-induced changes in the flow and sediment regime.
For the processing, IMP was able to draw on the results of previous projects of the Deutsche Flüssigerdgas Terminal Gesellschaft (DFTG) and Uniper Technologies GmbH (UTG) over the last 10 years.

Due to the extremely tight time frame of this project, the work was oriented towards the widest possible use of engineer-based analogy considerations to estimate the effects of the project. To absorb the uncertainties resulting from this approach also in terms of planning law, an associated preservation of evidence concept was developed, which must be able to record unexpected changes and evaluate them.
Since the work of IMP often provided the basis for the actual constructive planning steps, these results had to be achieved as quickly as possible and be resilient under planning law. IMP was able to submit the relevant documents within 6 weeks. In the further planning process and during construction, the documents were continuously adjusted and evaluated, regarding any significant changes in impact. In addition, with the start of construction, the essential preservation of evidence measurements were initiated and carried out in close coordination with the planning a-pproval authority.

The LNG import terminal Wilhelmsaven was the first LNG terminal in Germany to start operations on 21st December 2022. Less than 9 months had passed from the first planning step to the commissioning of the plant, which represented a national implementation record and has gone down in common parlance as the “new German speed”. IMP played a major role in the planning of this.
Since 2023, the sea-side preservation of evidence concept has been implemented. In addition to the zero measurement at the start of construction, series of measurements from the former preservation of evidence on the construction of the JadeWeserPort also form an essential basis.
The ongoing preservation of evidence has not yet revealed any unexpected developments. Especially the estimated low maintenance expenditure to maintain the required water depths at the berth and in the approach has also been confirmed so far.