More national production capacities needed for Germany’s grid expansion – energy industry
Clean Energy Wire
The expansion of Germany’s electricity grid in line with the growing share of renewable energy sources will require the build-up of greater national production capacities to ensure that cables and power transformers are available in sufficient quantities, energy industry association BDEW has said.
In an analysis conducted together with electric industry association ZVEI, the energy industry lobby group found that more than 500,000 kilometres of power cables and 500,000 power transformers will be needed to modernise the grid until 2045, the year in which Germany aims to become greenhouse gas neutral.
To shield the expansion of transmission and distribution grids from supply chain difficulties and other external challenges, national production capacities are needed as well as greater certainty for planning and investments. The high material needs are due to the fact that large parts of the grid infrastructure have reached their operational age limit and must be replaced.
A simultaneous addition of new infrastructure is also required to integrate the growing number of renewable power sources, electric vehicle charging stations and heat pumps into the system. “The power grid needs to be rebuilt now, with sufficient transport capacities and efficient use through digitalisation to ensure a secure electricity supply at any time,” the associations said.
“At the same time, securing enough skilled workers and reliable access to raw materials will be required, for example through a European resource bank or strategic resource partnerships,” said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae.
ZVEI head Wolfgang Weber stressed that planning security and climate neutrality targets must not depend on changes in government. “We need clear and lasting decisions that allow investment security,” Weber argued.
Grid expansion in Germany is years behind original schedules for many projects. Lagging grid expansion could be a major bottleneck in the country's, and Europe's, energy transition, as phasing out fossil fuels will only succeed if there is sufficient infrastructure to support a very different kind of energy system based on decentralised renewable power production.
