Germany's 2030 target of 65 percent renewables officially adopted in grid planning
Clean Energy Wire
The first grid development plan (NEP) based on Germany's target of 65 percent renewables in gross power consumption and planned coal exit has been approved by the German Federal Network Agency (BNetzA). The plan confirms that 3,600 kilometres of new power lines are required in the country by 2030, most of which will be used strengthen existing connections. As another first, the plan lays out the needs for offshore grid development, stating that between seven and eight connection systems are going to be required in the North Sea and Baltic Sea by 2030. Another corridor for extra-high-voltage direct current transmission will be needed by 2030 running from the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein via Lower Saxony to southern North Rhine-Westphalia in the west. The plan, which is based on a proposal by the four German transmission system operators, has undergone public consultation and has been adjusted to recommendations by the coal exit commission.
The expansion of Germany's power grid, needed to transport renewable power from Germany's windy north to industrial centres in the south, is one of the energy transition's greatest current challenges. In August, the BNetzA said progress was still "not as fast as necessary", with construction of about 6,600 kilometres of transmission lines outstanding.
