The Danish Energy Agency said Wednesday it has granted a permit to Nord Stream 2 AG to build a section of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines in Danish waters southeast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.
"The permit is granted pursuant to the Continental Shelf Act and in accordance with Denmark's obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," the Danish Energy Agency said.
On August 10, 2018, the Danish Energy Agency received an application for a route northwest of Bornholm on the continental shelf. As the route raised a number of questions in relation to the impact on the environment and shipping, the DEA requested Nord Stream 2 AG in March 2019 to investigate a southeastern route on the continental shelf.
The Danish Energy Agency has deemed the southeastern route on the continental shelf to be preferable to the northwestern route for its lesser impact on the environment and shipping.
"Based on consultation responses and close dialogue with relevant Danish authorities, the Danish Energy Agency has assessed that the southeastern route which has been granted a permit to is the preferable based on environmental and safety considerations," the agency said.
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Among the two southeastern route alternatives proposed by Nord Stream 2, the Danish Energy Agency has approved the shortest route, since this route provides the least risk and impact from an environmental and safety perspective and therefore is the preferable choice.
Nord Stream 2 -- which will double the capacity of the gas corridor via the Baltic Sea to Germany to 110 Bcm/year -- still faces significant opposition from the European Commission, countries in eastern Europe and the US, which all say the pipeline concentrates too much export capacity to Europe via just one route from one source.
According to Gazprom's latest update, some 2,042 km of Nord Stream 2 has been laid to date -- or 83% of its total length of 2,400 km (two strings of 1,200 km).
