September 12, 2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
Federal Minister of Economics Habeck visited the official start of construction for the first line section of the direct current link Südlink at the Elbe undercrossing in Wewelsfleth.
The power grid expansion in Germany at the high-voltage level is finally making progress. While the West Coast line for wind power from Denmark is nearing completion, the construction for the South Link line could start on September 11. This main line will bring electricity from the wind regions of northern Germany to southern Germany. Both projects contribute substantially to the security of supply of Germany, communicated the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWK).
After the start of construction of the first converter of the direct current line south link in July now also the first line section goes into the building. Planned is an approximately 5.2-kilometer-long accessible tunnel under the Elbe with an inner diameter of about 4 meters. The Südlink power line is to be 700 kilometers long in total and completed in 2028. The expansion is estimated to cost ten billion euros. According to the BMWK, planning approval procedures are underway in all sections.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) said at the start of construction on the Elbe: "With Südlink, southern Germany will be able to benefit from the large amounts of wind power from the north in the future." He added that this would strengthen security of supply in Germany and also in neighboring countries. "With the start of construction of the Elbe crossing, what is probably the most technically challenging line section of Südlink is entering the next and final phase as planned," Habeck said.
Each a direct current connection to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg
The Elbe crossing of the underground cable for Südlink begins in Wewelsfleth in Schleswig-Holstein and is located in the A2 section, which is about nine kilometers long. The responsible project owner is the transmission system operator Tennet. The planning approval decision in this section was issued by the Federal Network Agency as the responsible approval authority on August 16, 2023. Prior to this, initial preparatory construction activities had already been carried out as part of the early start of construction, which the Federal Network Agency had approved at the end of January 2022.
The Südlink consists of two direct current links of the Federal Requirements Plan: Project No. 3 from Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein to Großgartach in Baden-Württemberg and Project No. 4 from Wilster in Schleswig-Holstein to Bergrheinfeld in Bavaria. The two projects will be routed along a common route for most of the distance and laid as underground cables. The South Link will have a total transmission capacity of 4,000 MW, which corresponds to the electricity consumption of ten million households.
Habeck also at West Coast Line
On the occasion of the upcoming completion of the West Coast Line between Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, Minister Habeck had on the same day gained an impression of the future power grid hub in Schleswig-Holstein at the Heide West substation. The West Coast Line is a 137 kilometer long new 380 kV overhead line along the Schleswig-Holstein North Sea coast from Brunsbüttel to the Danish border. Overall commissioning is scheduled to take place in 2024 with completion of the connection on the Danish side.
The up-to-date overview of grid expansion is available on the Internet.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
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