© BMWK, Last revised: April 2024
Grid expansion progressing at great speed
The transmission systems, Germany’s ‘electricity highways’ are the backbone of our electricity supply. They ensure that electricity gets to wherever in the country it is needed. Locally, the distribution networks take over and supply individual areas and electricity users – from industrial plants to private consumers.
For the energy transition to succeed and for renewables to provide 100% of our electricity supply instead of renewables, the power grid must be upgraded with new and more modern power lines. Only these can ensure that sufficient wind power from the windy north of the country can be taken to the centres of consumption in the south, where there is a lot less wind.
For the expansion of the power grid to pick up speed, approval procedures have been streamlined in recent years, making them more efficient. The benefits of these measures are now becoming evident: almost 1,400 km of new power grid were approved in 2023 – four times more than in 2021 and twice as many as in 2022. Construction of another 630 kilometres began in 2023, including the initial sections of SuedLink, SuedOstLink, Ultranet and A-Nord, which are to become Germany’s major direct current links. By the end of 2024, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action expects to have issued approvals for roughly another 2,400 kilometres. Altogether, more than 4,700 kilometres of new power lines are to be approved by the end of 2025.
The analysis shows that the joint efforts made by all stakeholders are paying off and that considerable progress on grid expansion is possible, despite the many challenges. The most recent expansion projects, which are still at an early stage, are the ones to have benefitted most from the streamlining of procedures and the lessons learnt.