The energy transition will not succeed without more power lines. Operators have been calling for overhead lines to be given priority in the future for some time. Two prime ministers from different parties see it similarly.
In the debate about how future electricity highways should be built, the Prime Ministers of Baden-Württemberg and Saxony spoke out in favor of above-ground high-voltage lines instead of underground cabling. “In order to save money when building future high-voltage lines, we should not build underground, but above ground,” said Baden-Württemberg’s head of government Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) to the editorial network Germany (RND). That would save 20 billion euros. “A 40-meter-wide working trench runs through the entire republic for the underground cabling,” said Kretschmann. “Putting up masts would be a much smaller intrusion.” Federal Energy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is open to it if all federal states agree.
The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) told the RND: “I expressly support the initiative against underground cabling. We could save a huge amount of time and money on expansion.” Energy companies had also called for the above-ground variant in order to be able to build the urgently needed routes more quickly, which would bring electricity, particularly from the north of Germany to the south.
Source: Stern
