50Hertz to invest €20.7 B in infrastructure
The funds will be used for overhead power lines, on- and offshore cables, substations and other technologies.
Image for illustration purposes.
Germany, Berlin: Elia-owned German transmission system operator 50Hertz wants to invest €20.7 billion ($22.6 billion) in overhead power lines, on- and offshore cables, substations and other technologies in the coming years, compared to €4.8 billion ($5.2 billion) over the past five.
The company announced the intention in response to the increasing amount of renewables coming online, resulting in increased demand for transmission capacity. It said that more renewables were integrated into the grid last year than ever before. 72% of electricity consumption across its grid area was met by renewables, which is the highest level ever, but more transmission lines need to be reinforced or built to relieve grid congestion.
Germany’s network development plan presents the country’s transmission capacity needs, including 4800 km of new lines and reinforcement of 2500 km across the country. 50Hertz, whose grid area covers the eastern states, Berlin and Hamburg, has completed about 25% of development measures for the onshore transmission grid, which is more than 800 km of lines, while another 560 km are being built.
This year, the company should complete other important projects and commission several lines, suchs as the Nordring Berlin project, the offshore grid connection for the Baltic Eagle wind farm (Ostwind 2); and the Uckermark Line, an important regional north-south connection between the Baltic Sea and the larger Berlin area. Also, the plotting work for the Ostwind 3 project, which will connect the 300 MW Windanker wind farm to the mainland, has started. The company also plans to undertake work on line crossings under roads and railroad lines, including the SuedOstLink extra-high-voltage direct current transmission line between the Wolmirstedt and Isar substations near Landshut in Bavaria. In the future, its grid could grow by around 4000 km.
Source: Smart Energy International