The German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) has approved the route for the second section of the 2 GW underground power line project SuedOstLink, linking Hof to Schwandorf in Bavaria. This 137 km long section approved by the BNetzA largely followed the proposal of the transmission network operator (TSO) Tennet. In October 2019, the German energy regulator has reviewed the planning for the first section of the line project and approved an 83-km long corridor in the Naumburg (Saxony-Anhalt)-Eisenberg (Thuringia) area and stretching to Gefell (Thuringia), near the border with Bavaria.
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 must be approved by the BNetzA. 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.