- Tennet is rebuilding a power line between Bavaria and Austria
Tennet, the network operator, is planning to build a nearly 90-kilometer-long power line between Austria and Germany to strengthen supply security. The final planning section for this has now been approved by the government of Lower Bavaria, Tennet announced.
The power line could theoretically supply around six million people with electricity. The replacement of the 380-kilovolt power line is a crucial step in increasing the transport capacity of the approximately 86-kilometer-old 220-kilovolt existing line from the 1940s between Altheim near Landshut and St. Peter in Upper Austria.
"This approval is a significant milestone for supply security in Bavaria and Austria," said Tennet CEO Tim Meyerjürgens. "We are modernizing this approximately 80-year-old line to be able to transport more solar power from Bavaria and to strengthen the power exchange with Austrian pumped storage power plants."
The power line is an important connection in the European grid. With the energy transition, overall electricity consumption is increasing. The new line will help balance fluctuating power inputs, such as from photovoltaics.
The project consists of three planning sections between Altheim and Adlkofen, Adlkofen and Matzenhof, and Simbach and St. Peter. Tennet will now immediately begin construction of the line in the newly approved section between Adlkofen and Matzenhof. Initial preparations began in mid-July.
Tennet has secured all necessary materials to quickly implement the construction of the line: approximately 14,000 tons of mast steel and approximately 1,800 kilometers of conductor cables are ready.
Construction work is already underway in the other two sections and is expected to be completed soon. The entire replacement project, with a total of 235 masts, is scheduled to be operational in 2027. The existing line will be dismantled after the new line goes into operation in 2027.
The replacement of the 220-kilovolt power line from the 1940s is a crucial step in modernizing the infrastructure, as it aims to increase the transport capacity to accommodate more solar power from Bavaria. The newly built power line is anticipated to strengthen the power exchange with Austrian pumped storage power plants, providing electricity to around six million people.
