Start of construction for A-North power line in NRW

11.04.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The construction of the A-Nord direct current line in North Rhine-Westphalia has officially got underway in Rhede. This means that construction is now underway in two federal states.

With a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on April 11 in Rhede, Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) officially launched the construction of the A-North direct current line in North Rhine-Westphalia. The line will help to transport wind energy from the North Sea to Baden-Württemberg.

Wüst emphasized the importance of A-Nord for the energy transition and his federal state: "North Rhine-Westphalia is home to an energy-intensive industry. A climate-friendly energy supply that is secure and affordable is a prerequisite for the economic strength of our industrial location."

The direct current line is divided into two sections: A-North and Ultranet. A-North extends from the converter in Emden in Lower Saxony to the converter of the Ultranet project in Osterath in the Rhineland. Ultranet then continues to Philippsburg in Baden-Württemberg.

Potential savings of hundreds of millions of euros

Together, they form a wind power corridor around 600 kilometers long. From 2027 onwards, this corridor will mainly transmit up to 2,000 MW of wind power from East Frisia to the south of Germany. While construction work on the A-North line has been underway in Lower Saxony since fall 2023, the construction phase is now also beginning in North Rhine-Westphalia.

According to the responsible transmission system operator Amprion, A-North is expected to save up to 700 million euros in redispatch costs every year from 2027 onwards. "The investment costs of three billion euros will therefore quickly pay for themselves," Amprion CEO Christoph Müller is quoted as saying.

Müller also emphasized the economic importance of the project: "Grid expansion is a strong economic driver: Amprion will invest eight billion euros in North Rhine-Westphalia alone over the next five years. This is spread across 30 line construction projects, which will provide more than 2,500 companies with contracts."

The first 75 kilometers of the A-North line are scheduled for completion in March 2026. A converter station is being built at the southern interface of the line, in Meerbusch near Düsseldorf, which will enable the transition to the Ultranet connection.

While A-North will be built as an underground cable, Ultranet will run largely over existing high-voltage pylons as an overhead line. In Baden-Württemberg, the transmission system operator Transnet BW is responsible for this.


Author: Stefan Sagmeister