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Power line in the Soest district

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa

The Federal Network Agency has presented new plans for the expansion of the so-called transmission network.

According to these, five new direct current connections with a capacity of two gigawatts each are planned.

Three of them run in a north-south direction, two in an east-west direction.

New lines are also planned to connect offshore wind farms.

According to the authority, the plan defines the urgent need for expansion in the transmission network.

This was preceded by a months-long process in which all interest groups and the public were able to comment.

The plan serves as the basis for a new version of the federal needs plan, which will be enshrined in law.

The expansion of the transmission network is intended to help bring climate-neutral electricity to where it is needed - especially from the north to the south.

The plan describes which transmission network is necessary to completely convert the energy system to renewable energies by 2045.

In the regions, electricity distribution networks with lower voltages then take over the energy supplied by the “electricity highways” and forward it to the points of consumption.

The new plan shows “for the first time which power grid we need to complete the energy transition,” said authority President Klaus Müller.

All projects proposed by the four transmission system operators were carefully examined.

Only the start and end points of the lines were defined in the network development plan.

»The exact course will be determined in subsequent procedural steps.«

The agency estimates the costs for the planned network expansion at around 320 billion euros.

The investment costs for the newly planned expansion measures on land are estimated at 110 billion euros.

The estimated investments for the planned offshore wind lines amount to a further 160 billion euros by 2045.

All costs are written off over decades and are incorporated into the network fees via the electricity bill.

If the network expansion progresses, the billions in costs for the so-called “redispatch” should one day also disappear.

This includes, among other things, the downregulation of wind turbines.

The expenses are also offset by the hoped-for benefits.

4,800 kilometers of new lines

According to the network agency, the expansion on land includes around 4,800 kilometers of new lines and around 2,500 kilometers of reinforcements for existing connections.

The five new lines, so-called high-voltage direct current transmission connections, are to be called DC32 from Schleswig-Holstein to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, from Lower Saxony to Hesse (DC35), from Lower Saxony to Saxony (DC40), from Lower Saxony to Baden-Württemberg (DC41) and from Schleswig-Holstein to Baden-Württemberg (DC42).

The planned network expansion is likely to cause lively debates, as always.

Many citizens are skeptical about the new lines, among other things because they change the landscape and sometimes reduce the value of their properties.

Environmentalists also view the lines critically.

The network agency itself is currently preparing an environmental report on the federal requirements plan, which outlines the likely effects of the projects.

The release is scheduled for the end of May.

In the network development plan, the four transmission system operators Amprion, TransnetBW, 50Hertz and Tennet determine every two years which measures are necessary for reliable network operation.

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the transmission network in Germany currently has a total length of around 37,000 kilometers.

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