Grid operator Amprion sets CO2 reduction goal

Transmission grid operator Amprion has announced that it will cut CO2 emissions in its operations by a minimum of 63 percent by 2032. Amprion, one of Germany’s four transmission grid operators in charge of over 5,800 km of power lines, wants to reduce the emissions it causes itself (scope 1) and emissions that occur when it buys energy (scope 2) by the said percentage and is currently working on a target for emissions in its value chain (scope 3), a company press release said. An analysis for the company’s sustainability report showed that around 95 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are related to grid losses, e.g. when power lines heat up, and are usually compensated for by buying more electricity, which has the carbon footprint of the current energy mix. The remaining five percent are due to the energy consumption of buildings and the vehicle fleet and emissions of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from existing plants.

Germany’s grid is in need of updating, as it will have to transport an even larger amount of green electricity in the future, in particular bringing wind power from the north to the south of the country where large industrial users are located and where nuclear power stations are switched off as part of the phase out by the end of this year. Transmission grid operators are charged with expanding the existing infrastructure but the process is lacking in speed because of drawn-out planning procedures and local resistance. Amprion will invest 12 billion euros in grid expansion on land and sea (offshore wind connections) in the next five years and has completed 731 km of power lines out of 3,900 km that are to be built or upgraded.