It is a mammoth task: Thousands of kilometers of new overland power lines must be laid for the energy transition. The “electricity highways” are primarily intended to transport wind power from the north to the south. A significant proportion of these are supposed to be underground cables – but they are significantly more expensive than overhead lines. The costs of the network fees are passed on to all electricity customers. That’s why a debate has now gained momentum. Some countries are in favor of a change of course, as a survey by the German Press Agency showed. The Union in the Bundestag had announced that it would submit a proposal that future expansion would no longer rely on underground cables, but generally on overhead lines. The underground cable priority for large electricity highways has been in effect since the beginning of 2016. It was introduced by the grand coalition of the CDU and SPD in order to increase the population’s acceptance of the network expansion. The background was concerns about “monster routes”. High savings potential if there were no underground cables. The network agency estimates the total investment volume for the expansion of transmission networks from now to 2045 at around 320 billion euros – including the wind-to-sea connections, the so-called offshore projects. If there are no underground cables, the authority estimates the savings potential for onshore projects at 16.5 billion euros. “In addition, further savings of 18.8 billion euros could be possible for offshore connection lines, some of which were previously intended to be extended far inland as underground cables be,” said the authority. Based on current forecasts, an investment volume without underground cables of 284.7 billion euros can be estimated, reports the Federal Network Agency. So 35.3 billion euros less than with underground cables. Habeck: “Further delays would be harmful” Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) sees the cost aspect, but is still against changing the regulations. “If you wanted to switch to overhead lines, that would only be possible if the states, including Bavaria, quickly and with great unity asked the federal government to do so. And everyone would then have to promote it as a unit in the regions. I think that’s very unlikely,” Habeck said in an interview with “Zeit” in March. Long debates about it will make it even more expensive. “We have now accelerated the network expansion, further delays would be harmful.” According to the ministry, around 18,000 kilometers of network must be strengthened or expanded by 2045 for the energy transition. The number of route kilometers under construction doubled in 2023 compared to 2021. A record expansion of around 1,500 kilometers is expected this year. Several states want to change course. Almost all federal states are directly affected by the expansion plans. Some, such as Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatinate, are in favor of giving up underground cable priority. They emphasize that overhead lines can be built faster and cheaper. Others, such as Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, are against switching from underground cables to overhead lines and justify this on the grounds of acceptance among the population. BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG: Overhead lines offer several advantages over underground cables, emphasizes the Environment Ministry in Stuttgart. “They can be erected more quickly and cause significantly less impact on the ground.” They are also more cost-effective. According to the information, transmission system operators and a broad alliance from the economy are in favor of switching from underground cables to overhead lines. HESSEN: “Hesse, as an economically strong federal state, has a great interest in affordable electricity prices and network fees,” explains Hesse’s Economics Minister Kaweh Mansoori (SPD). At that time, the priority of underground cabling was anchored in the law in order to increase acceptance for the expansion of the necessary lines. “Today we see that even wide routes for underground cables are seen as unreasonable in many places,” he explains. “Especially in view of the costs, an honest debate must be held about where underground cables make sense in the future and where overhead lines, which are significantly cheaper.”BRANDENBURG: According to the Ministry of Economics, Brandenburg is in favor of abolishing underground cable priority. In addition to the high costs for underground cabling, the higher technical effort involved in underground cabling also means more time required for network expansion. “The assumed greater acceptance of underground cabling compared to overhead lines has not been demonstrated; the conflicts have simply shifted,” it says. The abolition of underground cabling priority could be implemented by adapting the Federal Requirements Plan Act. This could still be implemented in 2024. SAXONY-ANHALT: Saxony-Anhalt’s Energy Minister Armin Willingmann (SPD) is in favor of giving up priority for underground cables on large direct current transmission routes and foregoing priority regulations in the future – so that the most practical route variant can be chosen. “With the increased construction of overhead lines, network expansion in Germany could be implemented much faster and more cost-effectively,” said Willingmann. By abolishing the priority regulation for underground cables, the federal government could enable significant relief in network fees. Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) can also imagine a change in course. “If this makes the process cheaper and faster, it makes sense to check underground installations – especially where there is the possibility of running power lines above ground along large traffic routes such as motorways and railway lines,” said the CDU politician. However, he qualified: “In nature and tourism areas as well as in the protection of residential areas, the priority must remain on underground installations.” THURINGIA: Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) is open to relying more heavily on overhead lines than on underground cables when expanding the power grid to set. “Overground lines can be a way to speed things up and optimize costs. It makes sense to check every new measure accordingly. Above all, it’s about better coordinating the systems with each other,” explained Ramelow when asked in Erfurt.RHEINLAND-PFALZ: The Rhineland-Palatinate Climate Protection and Energy Ministry is in favor of relying on above-ground power lines where they accelerate the process. “In addition, above-ground power lines are cheaper, so the levy on network fees would be reduced and electricity prices would rise less,” emphasizes the ministry. However, the planning processes that are already underway should be completed as planned.LOWER SAXONY: Lower Saxony’s red-green state government is in favor of underground cabling. Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) said: “The network expansion is progressing more and more quickly, also because there is acceptance among the population thanks to underground cabling. We must therefore under no circumstances tamper with this consensus across society, otherwise we will put the brakes on the energy transition and climate protection again – instead of going much faster, which is absolutely necessary.”More on the topicSCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN: According to the Ministry of Energy Transition, Schleswig-Holstein is also taking action continues to advocate the use of underground cables in so-called extra-high voltage direct current transmission lines. “There are better ways to reduce electricity prices than to play with acceptance of the energy transition,” the ministry said. “The residents of the planned electricity highways have a right to reliability. The legal promise to lay these new direct current lines as underground cables has strengthened the acceptance of line projects in rural areas,” it says. Rural areas are already the key performers in the energy transition. Unraveling the political compromise found would trigger new waves of protests along new overhead lines. It is also questionable whether the new lines could really be implemented more quickly as overhead lines, as the planning would probably take longer. NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA: The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs also rejects another re-planning of underground cable projects to overhead lines. The current discussion is being followed “with great concern,” it said. Especially in a densely populated industrial country like North Rhine-Westphalia, underground cables make a massive contribution to acceptance. “If the planning were to be re-planned again, there would be a risk that a lot of local acceptance would be lost and the approval process, which has just been accelerated, would be delayed again due to a significantly higher number of objections.” However, the expansion of the electricity network urgently needs to move forward. The search for new routes for overhead lines would also lead to significant delays of at least around a year.MECKLENBURG-WESTERN POMMERN: The Ministry of Economic Affairs of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to consider the individual case: “A differentiated solution is preferred, which is not only based on the cost factors, but also “It is also made dependent on the local acceptance factors,” it said in a statement.
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