Amprion has developed a rough route for the direct current connection Rhine-Main Link in Germany, which it is presenting to citizens at information events across the country.
Since 11 March, the transmission system operator has been presenting the proposal in around 50 locations along the planning area in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony and providing information about the upcoming procedural steps and opportunities for participation.
The basis for the course of the Rhine-Main Link is the preference area published by the Federal Network Agency in November 2023 as part of the environmental report. Within this planning area, Amprion has developed a plan for the route based on environmental and spatial compatibility aspects.
Before the approval process begins this summer, the TSO will present a possible course of the power grid expansion project at numerous events across North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
A list of the dates and precise information about the respective addresses can be found on the Rhein-Main-Links project website at: https://rhein-main-link.amprion.net/Dialog/Termine/
Amprion will offer so-called citizen information markets for citizen dialogue. This event format focuses on personal exchange. The route proposal can be viewed digitally on screens. Employees from various specialist areas will address the individual concerns of visitors and answer questions on the topics of soil-friendly construction and environmental impacts. The info market does not contain any lectures, so coming and going is possible at any time. Registration is not required.
The four-week on-site information offering is intended to ensure transparency in the planning for the Rhine-Main Link. By the end of June 2024, Amprion would like to submit an application for a planning approval decision for the project in accordance with the Network Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG) to the Federal Network Agency.
The Rhine-Main Link is one of the central network expansion projects of the energy transition.
The scheme brings together four direct current underground cables to transport up to 8GW of offshore wind energy from Lower Saxony to Hesse. The high-performance energy corridor is intended to strengthen the Rhine-Main economic region from 2033 and relieve the strain on the heavily used transmission network as a kind of bypass to the existing network.
Amprion GmbH has the legal mandate to plan, build and finally put this approximately 600km-long underground wire route into operation.