Further progress in grid expansion: Bundesnetzagentur approves second-last section of the SuedOstLink power line
Year of issue 2025
Date of issue 2025.03.31
The Bundesnetzagentur has today completed the eighth of nine planning approval procedures for the SuedOstLink power line. The section of the line that has been approved (section A1) runs from Wolmirstedt to Könnern in Saxony-Anhalt. The Bundesnetzagentur’s decision means that another 88 kilometres of the SuedOstLink power line have been approved. 50Hertz will install 18 kilometres of overhead cables and the remainder of the section will run underground. The decision means that the Hohe Börde transition station west of Magdeburg and the cable section station east of Könnern can also be constructed. Approval has now been given for around 488 km of the SuedOstLink line, which will be approximately 540 km long.
Hybrid masts will be used to carry the overhead line in the northern part of the section together with existing overhead cables, which will minimise the impact on the landscape. Section A1 also crosses the Mittelland Canal as well as the Bode and Saale rivers. Archaeological excavations near the route revealed Stone Age finds.
In spring 2024 the Bundesnetzagentur had approved the first of several applications for an early start to work on this section of the power line. This made it possible for 50Hertz to begin with the initial construction work. Some ducts for cables have already been installed under roads and rivers using trenchless technology.
Route between Wolmirstedt and Könnern
The route for project 5 starts as an overhead line at the converter near the Wolmirstedt transformer station; the line runs south partly on hybrid masts down to a point level with Magdeburg. It then runs underground from the transition station west of Magdeburg together with the cables for project 5a. Southwest of Magdeburg the route turns southeast. It then turns south near Welsleben and runs east of Förderstedt; it meets the A14 motorway near Neugattersleben shortly before crossing the Bode river. The route runs south parallel to the motorway and passes between Ilberstedt and Bernburg (Saale); north of Alsleben (Saale) it turns southeast and crosses the Saale river before ending east of Könnern at the boundary between Salzland and Saale rural districts.
The Bundesnetzagentur is due to publish its planning approval decision (in German) on 14 April 2025 at: www.netzausbau.de/vorhaben5-a1 and www.netzausbau.de/vorhaben5a-a1.
SuedOstLink power line as a major axis for the energy transition
The SuedOstLink power line consists of the line listed as grid expansion project 5 and part of the line listed as project 5a. The projects each have a transmission capacity of 2 gigawatts and a voltage of 525 kilovolts. Project 5 runs between the Wolmirstedt and Isar transformer stations and project 5a between Ludwigslust-Parchim rural district and the Isar transformer station. The two lines meet in Börde and then run parallel to each other.
The SuedOstLink power line is a new high-voltage direct-current transmission line that will transport electricity from the northeast of Germany to Bavaria. Project 5 is due to go into operation in 2027 and project 5a in 2030. The two transmission system operators TenneT and 50Hertz are responsible for planning, constructing and operating the SuedOstLink power line.
The Bundesnetzagentur regularly updates the forecast on progress in electricity grid expansion. It is available online (in German) at www.netzausbau.de/prognose.