The four German transmission system operators (TSOs), i.e. Amprion, TenneT, 50Hertz and TransnetBW, have released plans for a four-week public consultation outlining future spending on onshore power transmission lines by 2030. The document presents the future domestic power grid development strategy (Netzentwicklungsplan or NEP 2030) and the proposed comments will be incorporated in the second draft, which will in turn be submitted to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) for examination.
The draft unveils several scenarios but all of them include the 65% renewable target for gross electricity consumption set out by the Germany's government coalition in 2018. The four TSOs estimate that the additional capacities required to reach this target will boost the necessary investments in power transmission lines: onshore lines would require €52bn in investment (€20bn more than previously thought), while an additional €18bn to €27bn would be needed to link up offshore wind parks with the mainland power grid. Some of the additional costs will come from digitalising power transmission systems and running more lines underground.
The document also proposes increasing offshore wind expansion targets ranging between 17 GW and even 23 GW according to the scenario, which is much more than the 15 GW target set out in the Renewables Act (EEG).