Information events in November – Optimized route planning with just one pipeline as of Adelsdorf

Kassel. The new pipeline project EUGAL (European gas pipeline link) will strengthen the supply of energy to Germany and Europe. In just four years’ time, EUGAL is expected to be delivering natural gas flexibly and reliably within Germany, to Poland, but above all to Southeastern Europe. The around 485-kilometer natural gas pipeline will run from the Baltic Sea through Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony to the German-Czech border.

The project developer is the transmission system operator GASCADE. In a first step, the company has formulated a project framework for EUGAL together with municipalities and public-interest bodies. These approaches, the concrete planning and consultation steps and the project itself are to be presented to citizens along the potential route variants in the coming weeks. Information events in Saxony are scheduled for the beginning of November (see the end for an overview of the dates).

“As a potential new neighbor, it’s important for us to introduce ourselves in person and hear what is on local people’s minds. After all, a pipeline project like EUGAL is a shared task,” explains Ludger Hümbs, the EUGAL Chief Project Manager. “People, nature and safety in planning, construction and operation have top priority for us.”

Following the preliminary work that has been done over the past months, the next project step will be in Saxony in November: the start of the official regional planning procedure. As part of that, a preferred route and possible alternatives will be examined. The impact of the routes on people, nature and the environment will be assessed. The public-interest bodies will have the opportunity to state their stance. In addition, the documents will be available to the public in the affected communities and districts. The planning approval process will follow in mid-2017. The next step after approval is the start of construction of the pipeline.

The route planning has been able to be optimized on the basis of the results of more in-depth examinations of the technical concept for EUGAL. Just one string instead of the original two is planned for most of Saxony. EUGAL will thus be planned as a dual pipeline up to the level of the Adelsdorf station in Northern Saxony and from there as a single pipeline – up to connection to the system of the Czech transmission system operator Net4Gas in Deutschneudorf. A key reason for this reduction is that significant transport capacities to be handed over at the German-Czech border can be provided by the existing gas transport infrastructure.

“With EUGAL, we’ll plug in some cases significant gaps in demand and transport capacities,” states Hümbs. Whereas natural gas requirements in Europe will still rise slightly up to 2035, domestic European production will fall sharply, according to the analysis in the 2015 European Network Development Plan. Europe faces a growing import gap of around 170 billion m³ of natural gas a year. The long-term need for transport capacities between Germany and its neighbors is also in some cases well above the currently available capacities. That is shown by the more capacity market survey (www.more-capacity.eu), which was instigated in order to ascertain requirements.

Information about the EUGAL project is available on the Internet site www.eugal.de.