The plans for an LNG terminal off Sellin on Rügen are on hold after protests.
However, other locations in the vicinity or on the island are being examined.
Environmental groups are mobilizing against it, and a Bundestag petition also aims to prevent the project.
Binz/Berlin - The resistance to the construction of a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in front of or on Rügen continues unabated.
The initiators of a Bundestag petition against the project expressed optimism shortly before the end of the collection of signatures.
Subject to the official count, it is assumed that the necessary quorum of 50,000 co-signers has been reached, said a spokesman for the initiative on Wednesday.
In this case, the organizers would have to be heard in a public session by the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag.
Several environmental organizations appealed to Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) on Wednesday to ensure that all federal LNG plans for Rügen are abandoned.
Liquefied natural gas locations both near and far from the coast would cause significant and irreversible damage to the ecosystems of the Baltic Sea, according to a joint statement by BUND Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, German Environmental Aid (DUH), NABU Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and WWF Germany.
After strong resistance on Rügen, the federal government backed away from its plans to build an LNG terminal five kilometers off the coast of the Baltic Sea resort of Sellin.
The Federal Ministry of Economics is now examining other possible locations in the area, including the use of the port of Mukran.
But communities in the south-east of Rügen had also opposed this.
Minister-President Schwesig once again made it clear that, from her point of view, approval for another terminal in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania could only be granted if the need was certain.
“The federal government is responsible for proving that there is a further need for LNG.
If this is the case, a solution must be found that takes into account the aspects of tourism, the environment and acceptance by the public," stressed the head of government
The environmental organizations spoke out against an LNG terminal in the port of Mukran and also against other offshore locations in the Baltic Sea.
"Both the construction and the long-term operation will lead to the destruction of sensitive and protected habitats, to permanent stress on endangered marine mammals, resting and migratory birds and, last but not least, the fish migration routes and the most important herring spawning area in the western Baltic Sea," said NABU Regional Manager Rica Münchberger, explaining the rejection.
The Bundestag petition is directed against the inclusion of Rügen as a location in the LNG Acceleration Act.
A terminal planned there would thus be classified as a priority project and pave the way for a faster approval process.
It is assumed that the Federal Cabinet will probably deal with the LNG Acceleration Act on April 19, the petitioners said.
The earliest possible hearing in the Petitions Committee falls in the session week between April 17th and 21st.
The tourism director of the municipality of Ostseebad Binz, Kai Gardeja, who is one of the initiators, said they wanted to be heard as soon as possible.
More than 30,000 supporters were registered online by Wednesday - the last day of the signing period.
One also knows of written receipts and receipts by fax, it said.
On Thursday, more than 20,000 votes from organized collections on the island of Rügen should also be delivered to Berlin by courier.
Lists had also been laid out in other places.
In Lubmin, south of Greifswald, Deutsche Regas has been operating an LNG terminal since mid-January, with the help of which the gas supply in Germany is secured.
The gas is fed into the European distribution grid at the former landing point for Russian natural gas from the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1.
According to federal plans, the energy company RWE (Essen) is to build another terminal in the region, which will also be connected to Lubmin via a pipeline in the sea.
The Budget Committee of the Bundestag recently released money for planning, but not for the construction of a terminal near Rügen and demanded further tests.
dpa
