The German states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony and grid operator TenneT have commissioned a grid expansion project enabling increased clean electricity transmission between Germany’s north and south.
Andreas Feicht, the state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Enak Ferlemann, the parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, energy ministers Olaf Lies (Lower Saxony) and Jan Philipp Albrecht (Schleswig-Holstein), and TenneT managing director Tim Meyerjurgens commissioned the project at a recent ceremony.
The expansion of the 45 km power line between substations near Norderstedt, Schleswig-Holstein and Dollern, in Lower Saxony, represents an “important building block for the energy transition”, said Meyerjurgens.
Albrecht said: “Today’s commissioning is a big step towards the energy supply of the future. The reinforced high-voltage line between Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony is a showcase project.
“In order for the federal states in central and southern Germany to benefit from the high potential of wind energy from northern Germany, the expansion of electricity grids is crucial.
“At the same time, we are working on several major construction sites on the Energiewende. For the energy turnaround in Germany, the construction and expansion of wind energy use is of enormous importance.”
The project also includes the optimisation of the Elbe crossing 2 project, which forms the bridge between Germany’s two largest wind power states as the main artery in the three-phase transmission network between Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.
The new 380 kV line consists of four sections and is a replacement of existing lines with predominantly lower voltage levels.
Meyerjurgens said: “We have quadrupled the capacity to transport wind power in this area so that it can be transferred to the consumption centres in the south and west of Germany.
“The usable transmission capacity of the new 380 kV line of 9.6GW corresponds to the capacity of ten large power plants or offshore grid connections.”
Feicht said: “The commissioning of Elbe crossing 2 is a very important step, which shows that we are finally making faster progress in network expansion.”