Power grid expansion
This article is about the expansion of the transmission network for electricity in Germany at the beginning of the 21st century.
The five steps of the German electricity grid expansion
The Federal Network Agency divides the German electricity grid expansion into five steps:
Step 1: scenario framework
The scenario framework is intended to show the likely development of the German energy landscape in 10 to 15 years. The four transmission system operators - 50Hertz Transmission , Amprion , Tennet TSO and TransnetBW - are responsible for the creation every two years . The scenario framework is used to assess the network infrastructure required in the future. The transmission system operators run through the possible developments in various scenarios. The scenario framework is checked and approved by the Federal Network Agency - possibly deviating.
Step 2: Network development plan and environmental report
With the network development plans , the transmission system operators calculate what they consider to be the necessary expansion requirements for a secure electricity network in the period under consideration. The scenario framework serves as the basis. The Electricity Network Development Plan deals with the power lines of the transmission network on land. The offshore network development plan, on the other hand, the connection lines of the wind farms in the sea and offshore interconnectors . With the network development plans, the transmission system operators forecast from where to where electricity has to be transported. So you define the start and end points. A precise route is not yet available in this step.
The Federal Network Agency examines the network development plans in terms of subject matter and content and can request adjustments if necessary.
Already at this point in time, the legislator prescribes an environmental assessment in accordance with the law on environmental impact assessment (in accordance with Section 12c EnWG ). In this, the Federal Network Agency analyzes all the projects planned in the network development plans for their effects on people, animals and the environment. The Federal Network Agency summarizes the results of the so-called strategic environmental assessment in an environmental report.
Step 3: Federal Requirements Plan
In the federal requirement plan, the legislature sets out the expansion measures that will be necessary for the energy industry in the next few years. The confirmed network development plans and the environmental report serve as the basis. They form the draft for the Federal Requirements Plan Act . The federal requirements plan contains the start and end points of the necessary lines - but not the specific routes. Bundestag and Bundesrat pass the Federal Requirements Plan Act.
Furthermore, national and cross-border lines are marked in the federal requirement plan. They differ from projects within individual federal states in that they go through other downstream procedural steps. In addition, pilot projects are marked in which new technologies are used.
Step 4: Federal planning or regional planning procedure
In this step, concrete route corridors for the power lines are defined. They are up to 1,000 meters wide and will later contain the power line. The exact course of the line within this corridor is not yet specified at this point.
For each project, the responsible transmission system operator suggests a route corridor and possible alternatives (in accordance with Section 6, Clause 6, No. 1 NABEG ). If it is a project within a federal state, the competent state authority then begins a spatial planning procedure or plan approval . The Federal Network Agency is responsible if the line is marked as national or cross-border in the law. This then opens the federal technical planning for the respective project or for a specific section of a project. The network expansion process is to be accelerated with the nationwide uniform procedure of federal technical planning ( § 1 NABEG ).
The Federal Network Agency is also carrying out a strategic environmental assessment in this step. Since this is the first time that specific rooms are considered, this is much more detailed than before.
Step 5: plan approval
In the plan approval, the specific course of the subsequent line in the corridor is determined on the basis of the decision of the federal technical planning or the regional planning procedure. The basis is an application from the responsible transmission system operator. Further details that will be determined in the course of the planning approval are technical details, the exact location and the type and height of the electricity pylons .
The Federal Network Agency or the responsible state authority also carries out an environmental impact assessment. This is even more specific than the environmental review during the federal technical planning, since all the details of the planned route are now known.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The process - network expansion in five steps. In: netzausbau.de. Federal Network Agency, accessed on January 31, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Network expansion - participation. (PDF) Federal Network Agency, April 2016, accessed on January 31, 2018 (brochure).
- ↑ a b Network development plans and environmental report. In: netzausbau.de. Federal Network Agency, accessed on January 31, 2018 .
- ↑ Worth knowing: Law on the Federal Requirements Plan (BBPlG). In: netzausbau.de. Federal Network Agency, accessed on January 31, 2018 .