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21 Oct 2016
Progress on route planning
Half of the new kilometres of grid set out in the Power Grid Expansion Act have been
approved and planning for the SuedLink and SuedOstLink electricity highways is going
into the next phase. Find out more
Progress on route planning
Half of the new kilometres of grid set out in the Power Grid Expansion Act have
been approved and planning for the SuedLink and SuedOstLink electricity
highways is going into the next phase.
© Bundesnetzagentur
The share of renewable energy in the electricity mix is growing. This means we need to expand the
transmission grid. In the past, local power plants tended to supply surrounding areas with electricity.
Today, it is generated for example from wind energy, particularly from North and East Germany,
where the wind is strongest. However, the largest electricity consumers, first and foremost industrial
companies, are based in the South and West. The grid expansion is therefore of great importance for
the energy transition. We must improve, upgrade and build more than 7,500 kilometres of grid in the
coming years.
This work is based on the existing network and 22 particularly important projects, as listed in the
demand plan set out under the Power Grid Expansion Act. The Federal Government has now taken
stock. The status at the end of the first half of 2016: a third of the necessary 1,800 kilometres of grid
have already been put in place; almost half of them have been approved. The Federal Government
provides information in a progress report for the Bundestag.
State Secretary Baake: ‘This is a significant milestone.’
‘The grid expansion is slowly but surely picking up speed’, said Rainer Baake, State Secretary at the
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. ‘Even though the number of successfully
implemented projects, at a total of 650 kilometres, is still too low, around 850 kilometres have been
approved, representing approximately 50 per cent of the projects set out under the Power Grid
Expansion Act. This is a significant milestone. Everyone now needs to keep doing all they can to drive
the projects forward.’
The Länder are responsible for approving the projects. It is the responsibility of the four German
transmission system operators (TSOs) to submit applications for, construct and operate the electricity
lines. The TSOs expect around 45 per cent of the 1,800 kilometres of grid planned under the Power
Grid Expansion Act to be completed by the end of 2017 and around 85 per cent by the end of 2020.
Pursuant to the Federal Requirements Plan Act, another 43 projects are needed that build on the
existing network and the 22 projects mentioned above.
The aim is to involve the public from an early stage
The plans for the large SuedLink and SuedOstLink electricity highways, which run from SchleswigHolstein and Saxony-Anhalt to Bavaria, are taking shape. Pursuant to the Federal Requirements Plan
Act, TSOs TenneT, TransnetBW and 50Hertz have now proposed corridors for the power line routing.
The operators want to involve the public in the planning even before they apply for federal sectoral
planning at the Federal Network Agency, thereby launching the official procedure. According to the
Federal Network Agency, the submission of applications is planned for early next year. The Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy welcomes the idea of involving the public at an early stage.
Citizens will, of course, have many possibilities to participate later on while the official procedure is
being conducted.
Underground cables are the priority
According to the recently published plans of the TSOs, the two SuedLink and SuedOstLink HVDC
transmission lines (more information on these can be found in the following article) will run
completely underground. The priority of underground cables over overhead power lines for these
electricity highways was enshrined in law last year. Even though underground cables are more
expensive, they enjoy greater public acceptance than overhead power lines, due to their having less of
an impact on the surrounding landscape. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
therefore expects the planning phase to be completed soon and that the SuedLink and SuedOstLink
can enter into service in 2025.
While the exact line routing has not yet been determined, the start and end points of the electricity
highways have been prescribed by the government. The SuedOstLink will run from Wolmhirstedt
near Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt to Isar, a region in Bavaria near Landshut. The SuedLink begins
near the cities of Brünsbüttel and Wilster in Schleswig-Holstein and ends in two locations: one in
Grafenrheinfeld in Bavaria, the other in Großgartach near Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg.
Dialogue phase for A-Nord project launched
The TSO Amprion launched its first dialogue phase for another electricity highway at the beginning of
October. The TSO is involving the public in its work to find the best possible route for the A-Nord DC
line between Emden Ost at the North Sea and the Osterath region in North Rhine-Westphalia. No
proposal is currently on the table for the route of this project.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Grids and grid expansion
Status report on the grid expansion set out by Section 3 of the Power Grid Expansion Act (in
German only)
Information provided by the Federal Network Agency on grid expansion
What exactly are ‘HVDC transmission lines’?
The grid expansion will increase the number of HVDC transmission lines. But
what do these four letters stand for? Read on and find out.
© BMWi
Moving large amounts of electricity around the country
For the energy transition to succeed, the transmission grid will need to be able to transport large
amounts of electricity over long distances while keeping energy loss as low as possible. Some of the
electricity flowing through the grid will end up heating the power lines, resulting in lost energy during
transport. You will be familiar with the problem from old light bulbs: some of the energy ends up
heating the bulbs instead of being converted into light.
In order to keep this energy loss as low as possible, the power lines need to be operated at a high
voltage and in such a way that electricity only flows in one direction. HVDC transmission lines
combine both of these factors. (HVDC stands for high-voltage direct current.) Let us take a look at
these two factors.
A high voltage is crucial
Basically, the higher the voltage, the lower the energy loss during transport. We therefore need to
operate the lines at the highest possible voltage. The ‘Ultranet’ HVDC transmission line, for example,
will operate at 380,000 volts. In comparison, a regional power grid that supplies homes usually
operates at only 220 or 400 volts. The newly constructed electricity highways are therefore operating
at about a thousand times higher voltage than the lines in front of our homes.
Electricity that flows in one direction
So far, electricity has been transported over long distances as alternating current. Alternating current
reverses direction 50 times a second. This change of direction causes energy to be lost. At distances of
several hundred kilometres, these losses add up. The electrical current basically runs out of steam.
This is a far smaller problem with direct current. Depending on the length, HVDC lines lose 30 to 50
per cent less energy than AC transmission lines.
Higher investment costs are offset
AC transmission lines are still commonly used in overhead high-voltage power lines because they are
relatively cheap to build and to maintain, and are also less susceptible to outages. However, some
new connections over long distances are now being planned as HVDC lines because the lower energy
losses offset the higher investment costs needed for this technology. In particular, the converters that
are used to convert the alternating current into direct current (and vice versa) at the beginning and
end of the lines are relatively expensive. So far, HVDC lines have usually been seen in underwater
cables and offshore lines which connect the wind farms out at sea with the mainland.
The Federal Government adopted the Act to change provisions of law on energy cable construction at
the end of 2015, stipulating that underground cables will be given priority over overhead lines in the
case of new HVDC transmission lines. This will also make them more likely to be accepted by the
public, as underground cables have less of an impact on the surrounding landscape than overhead
lines. Underground HVDC transmission lines will also be used in the large SuedLink and SuedOstLink
electricity highways.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Grids and grid expansion
Beating the competition by being efficient
Companies that reduce their energy costs not only drive forward the energy
transition but also boost their competitiveness. Oftentimes, the costs can be
reduced by one to two thirds.
© Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; data source: dena
Many things must be changed to improve energy efficiency. But even though appropriate investments
could reduce the energy costs by one to two thirds, according to data from the German Energy
Agency (dena), too few companies are working on the issue. Through technologies such as
compressed air and pump systems, oftentimes up to 30 per cent of the energy can be saved,
sometimes even more.
Investments pay off several times over
The costs for investments in modernisations will usually pay off within just a few years and in more
than one way. Exchanging old lighting with a modern lighting system cuts not only energy
consumption but also maintenance and repair costs.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular shy away from investing in energy efficiency,
even though they can benefit from many federal funding options. Apart from receiving funding for
the efficiency measures themselves, they can also benefit from energy consulting in advance, as this is
a helpful starting point for systematically implementing efficiency measures. Thanks to the
government-sponsored energy consulting, SMEs are entitled to receive reimbursement of up to
€8,000 in consultancy fees.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Energy efficiency
Information for companies on the ‘Germany going efficient’ website (in German only)
Quote of the week
© dena
‘Just a few years ago, energy efficiency was regarded as a boring aspect of renewable energy. Today
we know that energy efficiency is a driving force for innovation. More and more companies are
realising this, and boosting efficiency has become easier with digitisation.’
Andreas Kuhlmann, Chief Executive, German Energy Agency (dena)
Buschhaus power plant on security standby
On 1 October, the Buschaus lignite-fired power plant was the first power plant to
be temporarily put on security standby (press release in German only).
Germany helps Jordan restructure its energy sector
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel and Nasser Judeh, Jordan's
Minister of Foreign Affairs, launched an energy dialogue last week. Germany
wants to help Jordan restructure its energy sector.
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