Town protests new LNG terminal

Town protests new LNG terminal

The Italian town of Piombino is planning to build a floating LNG terminal. As large vessels would bring liquefied natural gas to the terminal, local residents, supported by the mayor, protest, fearing health and safety risks and threats to the marine life and fishery. They have now taken legal action to stop the project.

ECONOMY WORLD NOVEMBER 29. 2022 08:33

„A death sentence for the city”

Piombino’s residents are furious. People in the town boasting a population of 34 thousand on Italy’s western coast took to the streets en masse to protest against the planned LNG terminal.

Photo:Screenshot

 

Three thousand residents took part in a demonstration a month ago. „The sacrifice Piombino is asked to make is unfair, unsustainable and will be short-lived”, advocates speaking against the project said, also warning of health and safety risk, as well as of the lasting environmental damage. On reports on the protest pointed out that

„Multinational companies make billions in profits as the United States and the EU force their energy policy on the country…”

Protesters added harsh words to the videos posted on Twitter, saying

„The terminal will bring a death sentence for the city”.

The town’s mayor is not in favour of the plans, either. Francesco Ferrari said he was aware that there is an energy crisis, and that creating new supply routes is in the country’s interest, but he also emphasized that safety issues facing the residents of Piombino should not be ignored.

The city has launched a legal challenge, asking the administrative court to suspend the construction of the terminal. They have cited security, health and environmental risks in their complaint. The decision is still pending.

Italy faces energy shortage – Rome also restricts heating

However, the Italian government, which needs to urgently replace Russian gas sources, is powerless for the time being. A few days ago, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin expressed serious doubts about the country’s energy supply. As he said, supplies are secured for this year, but 2023 is a cause for concern. In addition, a few days ago they were also forced to announce that they would introduce severe restrictions on the heating of flats in Rome. Until the first of December, apartments can only be heated for four hours a day, after which the restrictions will be adjusted to weather conditions.

Regarding the Piombino terminal, the minister said, „There is no doubt that we are in need of the 4.5 billion cubic meters from there.”

–Snam, the main operator of natural gas transport and distribution in Italy, has already begun the preparatory works in Piombino, but construction of the gas pipeline itself, which would take the gas from the floating terminal to the pipeline system, has not yet been started. The plan is for the terminal to become operational by the end of March next year. If the construction is delayed, the filling of the country’s gas reservoirs will also be delayed, and next year’s supply will be put in jeopardy.

Italy currently has three LNG terminals in operation. However, these do not provide sufficient capacities to cover the increased demand. Rome plans to increase its liquefied gas imports by eight billion cubic meters by the next winter season. The ships would come from Africa, Qatar and the United States. Incidentally, Russia was the main source of gas for Italians last year, with a 38 per cent market share. This year, they have already been supplanted by Algeria.

 

ECONOMY WORLD

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gas, italy, lng, piombino