With the completion of the Wilhelmshaven connection pipeline II (WAL II), including a gas pressure regulator station, by OGE at the beginning of October 2023, Germany's stable natural gas supply will also be ensured in the future. The pipeline is also suitable for transporting hydrogen.
The WAL II runs - bypassing nature conservation areas - with a length of 2 km through industrial areas of the Voslapper Groden. The pipeline is the second floating import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and is ready for the arrival of the Floating Storage & Regasification Unit (FSRU) "Excelsior".
"I would like to thank our team for once again doing an outstanding job to achieve the on-time completion. The WAL I and WAL II pipelines will be able to transport 100 TWh of gas annually from the end of 2023. This is around 20 % of the gas imports from Russia to Germany to date and corresponds to the annual consumption of around 5 mio. households“, says Dr Thomas Hüwener, Member of the OGE Executive Board.
Diversification in energy supply still necessary
With the Wilhelmshaven connection pipeline (WAL I) completed in record time in December 2022, OGE has already made a significant contribution to energy security for private consumers and industry. Natural gas has already been flowing from the LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven into the German gas grid for nine months.
The technical project manager of WAL I and WAL II, Franz-Josef Kißing, emphasises: "Although WAL has already paved the way for an independent and diversified energy supply, the process is not yet complete. The existing pipeline network is almost at capacity due to the transport of natural gas from Norway and the Netherlands. Therefore, an expansion of the transport capacities is inevitable. The valuable lessons learned from the successful implementation of WAL I have helped us to realise WAL II smoothly."
A supply pipeline is planned to transport the new natural gas volumes from Lower Saxony to the German long-distance gas grid: The first section of the Etzel-Wardenburg drone is to be completed and put into operation in 2025, followed by the second section in 2026.
Accelerating the conversion of the energy system
"Good cooperation between politics, authorities, local citizens and companies is essential for the successful course of the project“, says Dr. Jörg Bergmann, spokesman for the management, with regard to the close partnership with all project participants. "It would not have worked without the many people who supported, accompanied and promoted WAL I and II in their development. For that, we as OGE would like to say thank you. With a view to strengthening the natural gas network and simultaneously building the H2 core network, accelerating planning and approval procedures for infrastructure projects is now more important than ever. We continue to work on driving forward the transformation of our energy system. This requires green gases, first and foremost hydrogen, as the ideal partner for the storage and transport of renewable energies, as well as the infrastructure to match."
