Milestone in the energy transition: SuedLink also goes into construction in southern Lower Saxony

Einbeck. Transmission system operator TransnetBW has heralded the start of construction of SuedLink in the districts of Hildesheim, Northeim and Göttingen. STRABAG AG and Köster GmbH are jointly building the approximately 100-kilometer-long section of the power line in the SuedLink Südniedersachsen consortium (ARGE). Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies, TransnetBW Managing Director Dr. Werner Götz and TenneT Managing Director Tim Meyerjürgens attended the ceremony and underlined the importance of the infrastructure project for the energy transition. At the same time, SuedLink construction work is also underway in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein.

SuedLink is the central infrastructure project of the energy transition. With a transmission capacity of 4 gigawatts, the direct current underground cable will transport wind power from the north to the south of Germany - enough to supply around 10 million households with climate-friendly electricity. SuedLink is therefore of central importance for grid stability and security of supply.

At the ceremony in Einbeck, Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies said: "With today's start of construction in Einbeck, we are setting a decisive milestone for the energy transition - not only in Lower Saxony, but throughout Germany. (...) Lower Saxony is assuming responsibility as an energy hub and remains a reliable partner for a secure and sustainable energy supply."

"In future, SuedLink will bring electricity from the windy regions in the north to the consumption centers in the south," said TransnetBW Managing Director Dr. Werner Götz at the ceremony. "We are thus making a key contribution to the energy transition throughout Germany - and at the same time demonstrating that grid expansion can succeed in close dialog with politics, business and society." (...)

Managing Director Tim Meyerjürgens came to Einbeck on behalf of project partner TenneT. "SuedLink is a joint project that thrives on the close and cooperative partnership between our two companies," he emphasized. "Particularly here in Lower Saxony, where we are virtually handing over the baton of responsibility north of Elze, close cooperation and the exchange of knowledge is especially important," said Meyerjürgens.

Rudolf Sabatier, Head of the STRABAG Lower Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt Directorate in charge of the project, explained on the sidelines of the event: "We are building for the energy transition in Germany. We are delighted that we are making a valuable contribution to the realization of this future-oriented infrastructure project with our decades of civil engineering expertise. The start of construction on the line section in southern Lower Saxony is an important milestone for us. We would like to thank everyone involved for their trusting and constructive cooperation."

The planning approval decisions for the approximately 100-kilometre-long SuedLink section from Elze to Friedland were issued by the Federal Network Agency in the summer. This means that construction work can now begin in full. Construction work in Einbeck-Salzderhelden had already begun last December with early approval from the Federal Network Agency. The Kleine Heldenberg is currently being undermined there.

Further construction work is now set to begin soon. Following the preparatory construction measures, obstacles such as roads or bodies of water will be undercut with horizontal drilling. As with open trench construction, empty conduits will be pulled in first. The cables will be pulled in at a later date. Pre-construction archaeological measures are also being carried out south of Einbeck. These serve to uncover and secure archaeological features and finds in advance of the actual construction work.

The construction measures of the SuedLink Südniedersachsen consortium will generally take place one after the other in the coming months, but sometimes also in parallel.

About SuedLink

SuedLink is one of the largest infrastructure projects of the energy transition. The direct current underground cable link will connect the windy regions of northern Germany with Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The 700-kilometre-long connection is being implemented by the two transmission system operators TransnetBW and TenneT. TenneT is responsible for the northern section of the route and the converters in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria, while TransnetBW is responsible for the southern section of the route and the converter in Baden-Württemberg.

Further information on SuedLink can be found at https://suedlink.com

Source: https://www.transnetbw.de/de/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/suedlink-geht-auch-in-suedniedersachsen-in-den-bau