The German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has approved the route for the fourth section of the 2 GW underground power line project SuedOstLink, linking Wolmirstedt to the Naumburg - Eisenberg area in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. This 182 km long section approved by the BNetzA followed the proposal of the transmission network operator (TSO) 50Hertz.
The SuedOstLink high voltage direct current (HVDC) power line project will consist of a DC line spanning across 580 km from Wolmirstedt in Saxony-Anhalt to Landshut in Bavaria. The application for the project was submitted by the German TSOs Tennet and 50Hertz in March 2017. The project will consist of four sections, which were approved in 2019 (Eisenberg - Hof and Hof - Schwandorf sections) and in February 2020 (Schwandorf - Isar). Commissioning is planned for 2025.
Once built, it would be one of the most important new transmission lines between northern and southern Germany as it would enable to better cover the needs for electricity transport in southern as well as northern Germany. It is expected to transmit the electricity produced by offshore wind parks in the northern part of Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, where renewable energy capacities have surged) to southern regions and cover the country's future power requirements as all the domestic nuclear power plants will be phased out by 2022.