Further progress in grid expansion: Bundesnetzagentur approves southern section of “Südharz” power line
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.03.18
The Bundesnetzagentur completed the planning approval procedure for one of the two sections of the Südharz power line project on 17 March 2025. The section that has been approved runs from Wolkramshausen to Vieselbach in Thuringia. The section is about 75 kilometres long and the longer of the two sections. The power line in this section will be an extra-high voltage overhead line. The project is being planned and implemented by the transmission system operator 50Hertz.
Route between Wolkramshausen and Vieselbach
The approved section starts at Wolkramshausen transformer station and runs along the existing 220 kV Wolkramshausen-Vieselbach line. Southeast of Ebeleben (near Abtsbessingen) the route turns southeast and runs along the existing 110 kV Wolkramshausen-Vieselbach line to Sömmerda. Near Sömmerda the route runs east along the existing 110 kV Kölleda-Sömmerda line to the A71 motorway. The route then runs south to the west of and parallel to the A71 motorway until it re-joins the 110 kV Wolkramshausen-Vieselbach line again west of Schlossvippach. The approved route crosses the A71 motorway at a point level with Eckstedt and turns southeast again near Schwerborn. The route then follows the 220 kV Wolkramshausen-Vieselbach line to the project endpoint at Vieselbach transformer station.
Approval has also been given to dismantle the existing 220 kV power line between Wolkramshausen and Vieselbach transformer stations.
The Bundesnetzagentur is due to publish its planning approval decision (in German) on 4 April 2025 at www.netzausbau.de/vorhaben44.
Südharz power line
The Südharz power line project is designed to increase transmission capacity throughout Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The route corridor has already been decided on. It runs from near Schraplau/Obhausen west of Halle (Saale) via Wolkramshausen (Thuringia) to Vieselbach (Erfurt) and is about 146 kilometres long. Much of the power line will run along the route of the existing 220 kV line, which will then be dismantled.
The Bundesnetzagentur regularly updates the forecast on progress in electricity grid expansion and publishes the updates (in German) at www.netzausbau.de/prognose.
