In order to bring the electricity produced in the north to the south, functioning power lines are needed. The federal government now wants to speed up the expansion of the grid by changing the law.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the German government wants to significantly accelerate the expansion of electricity networks. To this end, the construction of several lines is to be brought forward, as the ministry announced in response to a request from dpa. The “Augsburger Allgemeine” newspaper initially reported on the planned amendment to the so-called Federal Requirements Plan Act, which is to be passed in the Bundestag next Friday.
Electricity should reach the south and west more quickly
said FDP energy politician Lukas Köhler to the dpa. The change affects two routes that are to be built more quickly: the so-called North-East Link, which transports electricity from Schleswig-Holstein to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and the Rhine-Main Link. The Rhine-Main Link will help to better transport electricity from Lower Saxony to the south in the future.
“Only through rapid expansion of the power grids can we achieve a secure power supply at reasonable prices,” emphasised FDP parliamentary group vice-chair Köhler. It is “absolutely right” to build these two new routes as quickly as possible.
The Greens are also in favour. “We will all benefit greatly from the grid expansion,” said Ingrid Nestle, parliamentary group spokesperson for energy and climate protection, to the dpa. The new large-scale lines will primarily transport cheap offshore wind power to the south of Germany and “to the industrial centres”. “In this way we will reduce the costs that arise from the use of expensive fossil fuel power plants.”
Law is intended to be “starting signal for construction”
The coalition’s draft bill states: “In view of the current regional imbalance between energy production and energy use, it is necessary to transport electricity over long distances.” Bringing forward the projects is intended to eliminate “bottlenecks in the electricity supply within the German grid.”
When exactly the construction of the routes can begin depends on the plans of the Federal Network Agency and the transmission system operators. As soon as the law is passed, however, that will be the “starting signal for construction to begin,” emphasized FDP parliamentary group vice-chair Köhler.
Source: Stern
