Germany's grid expansion picking up pace - operator

A key operator of Germany’s electricity grid, TenneT, has hit several important milestones in its goal to expand the grid and help the country meet its decarbonisation plans, according to a company press release. The company reported that it had made “important progress” on the SuedLink power transmission line by beginning construction on two of the four converters needed. The project to construct a 700 km power line that will bring renewable energy produced in windy northern states to industrial centres in the country’s south is considered one of Germany’s most important energy transition projects. Construction began last year, and the project is scheduled for completion by 2028. The SuedOstLink, a similar project to connect renewable energy installations in the north and east to the country’s south, received its first planning approval decisions in Bavaria. In addition, TenneT reported that it had begun production of high-voltage cables to connect two offshore wind installations (BalWin4 and LanWin1) with a combined capacity of two gigawatts (GW). This comes only weeks after the news that Germany’s plan to buy TenneT’s German assets had collapsed.

TenneT, a Dutch company, is one of four transmission system operators (TSOs) in Germany. It is responsible for a large stretch of the high-voltage grid in the country’s northern, central and southern parts. The company is planning to expand Germany’s transmission grid by more than 3,500 km by 2045 with the construction of new onshore and offshore lines. “In order to achieve the climate milestones in 2030, 2045 and 2050 and to be able to meet the needs of our customers, we are fully promoting the electrification of industry, businesses, households, hospitals and public transport by making new infrastructure available,” TenneT head Manon van Beek said. “Not investing in the electricity grid is not an option, because the social and economic price of grid congestion, redispatch costs and lack of access to electricity is much higher than the necessary grid investments,” she added.

Germany’s coalition government pushed for faster approval of grid expansion projects earlier this year in order to make swifter progress towards the country’s goal of an 80 percent decarbonised electricity supply by 2030. The country’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) said it expected a significant acceleration of grid buildout, with over 1,800 km slated for approval this year and 1,600 km the year after, according to a report from Der Spiegel.