Western Branch of Nord Stream Gets German Approval

The last section of the the western branch of the Nord Stream onshore gas pipeline has been approved by the State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology in the German state of Lower Saxony.

Authorities there have issued a permit for the construction. 

The route, 21 miles (35 kms) long, will start from the town of Tespe and run to the Harmstorf compressor station in the district of Harburg.

Construction of the NEL pipeline began in the spring of 2011, and was planned to be finished by November 1, 2012, the start date of supplies via the second line of Nord Stream.

However, in late June 2011 residents of several localities who were worried about the pipeline running too close to their communities won a court order to postpone construction. 

The so-called "southern option" route was offered as an alternative. The construction permit is therefore accompanied by certain conditions. 

The NEL gas pipeline, with a total length of  273 miles (440 kms), will run from the point where the Nord Stream pipeline comes on shore near Greifswald to Hamburg and Bremen and the underground gas storage facility in Rehden (Lower Saxony). Its capacity will be 21.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year. The gas will be supplied to Germany as well as Denmark, Holland, Belgium and the UK.