Farmers and TSOs agree ‘groundbreaking’ compensation for transmission highways

After two years of negotiations, landowners in four German states have reached agreements with electricity grid operators over compensation for land affected by the construction of underground transmission highways, grid operator TenneT announced. The agreements between farmers' associations of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Lower Saxony and Thuringia, and transmission system operators (TSOs) Tennet and TransnetBW provide rules on compensation for landowners and land managers affected by the construction of underground cables for the Suedlink and SuedOstLink electricity networks. Compensation is to be paid for land use and the restriction of cultivation during the construction phase, but ongoing payments are not envisaged. “Connections such as SuedLink and SuedOstLink form the backbone of the energy transition in order to make the supply of electricity secure, environmentally friendly and affordable,” TenneT Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tim Meyerjürgens said. “TenneT and TransnetBW spent more than two years in intensive discussions with the responsible representatives of the state farmers' associations in order to agree on a uniform, transparent and comprehensible balance of interests,” TenneT’s press release reads.

The Suedlink and SuedOstLink transmission highways are required for sending electricity from Germany’s windy north to its industrial south and southwest. Electricity is meant to be transported via Suedlink from 2028 and via SuedOstLink from 2027. The approximately 700-kilometre-long Suedlink transmission highway will run through six states: Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Thuringia, Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.