Bundesnetzagentur publishes environmental report on the electricity grid expansion
Year of issue 2024
Date of issue 2024.05.31
The Bundesnetzagentur has today published its environmental report on the Federal Requirements Plan 2023 for 2037 and 2045.
"We have carefully assessed all the proposed projects for their environmental impact. The new preferential areas enable us to speed up the planning procedures for new direct current lines considerably,"
said Klaus Müller
, President of the Bundesnetzagentur.
The report assesses the effects of some 185 measures necessary to ensure a secure supply of electricity in Germany. The Bundesnetzagentur evaluates new power line measures in the report as well as power lines that are already included in the latest federal requirements plan.
In the environmental report the Bundesnetzagentur has also defined seven preferential areas for the first time. The transmission system operators must plan the new routes for power lines within these five to 10 km wide strips of land. Defining a preferential area takes the place of a multi-year federal sectoral planning procedure. The processes for defining preferential areas and establishing the requirements are carried out at the same time. This means that when the grid connection points are determined in the federal requirements plan, a preferential area is ready and available. Planning approval can then follow immediately.
Results of the assessment
In March 2024 the Bundesnetzagentur confirmed the need to expand the electricity grid by an additional 4,800 km, approximately. In its strategic environmental assessment, the Bundesnetzagentur has now assessed the anticipated environmental effects of these measures. The report contains 185 measures, comprising 143 overhead, 15 underground and 27 submarine/underground cable measures. The measures assessed include 74 new-build measures.
For the first time the Bundesnetzagentur has defined preferential areas for the large underground cable projects needed, namely for NordOstLink (DC31/DC32), Rhein-Main-Link (DC34, DC35, NOR-x-8 and NOR-x-4), NordWestLink (DC41) and SuedWestLink (DC42/DC42plus). It then took these as the basis for the areas of investigation for the strategic environmental assessment for the federal requirements plan. Preferential areas are around 5-10 km-wide strips of land between the start and end points of a project. The exact route of the power line within these corridors will be determined in the planning approval procedure. An underground cable connection OstWestLink (DC40/DC40plus) is likewise planned but, owing to unforeseen changes to the planning, the preferential areas could not be conclusively defined. There are plans to establish a legal basis in the near future for the possible subsequent definition of the preferential areas concerned.
The environmental assessment has revealed that around half the total measures have a slight or very slight effect on the protected assets, mostly affecting new, shorter overhead lines or overhead lines that reinforce an existing power line. For around one-third of the measures, the Bundesnetzagentur expects a high or very high environmental impact. These measures include longer length new builds, underground cable projects and the offshore grid connections in the North and Baltic Seas, where the length significantly increases the probability of environmental effects occurring. The results of the environmental assessment serve as an early warning system for subsequent and more specific planning procedures.
Widespread public participation
The general public had 10 weeks in which they could submit comments prior to the Bundesnetzagentur drawing up its environmental report. Around 600 responses were received from the public and public authorities. The Bundesnetzagentur took these as a basis for examining the environmental report and the preferential areas.
Background to the environmental report
The environmental report together with the confirmed network development plan provide the basis for drafting a federal requirements plan. The federal requirements plan includes the necessary extra-high voltage lines. The legislators then make a binding decision on the need for these lines to meet supply requirements and on the urgency of the requirement.
The environmental report has been published (in German) and is available at www.netzausbau.de/umweltbericht.
Explanatory videos about the network development plan can be found on YouTube at www.youtube.com/netzausbau.