Tennet announced that the final planning phase has now been approved by the government of Lower Bavaria. The power line could theoretically supply around 6 million people with electricity. The replacement construction of the 380-kilovolt power line is a key step in increasing the transport capacity of the approximately 86-kilometer-long, outdated 220-kilovolt existing line from the 1940s between Altheim near Landshut and St. Peter in Upper Austria.
“This approval is a significant milestone for the security of supply in Bavaria and Austria,” said Tennet Managing Director Tim Meyerjürgens. “We are modernizing this approximately 80-year-old line in order to be able to transport more solar power from Bavaria and at the same time strengthen the exchange of electricity with the Austrian pumped storage power plants.”
Three planning phases
The power line is an important connection in the European interconnected grid. With the energy transition, electricity consumption is increasing overall. The new line will make it easier to balance out fluctuating electricity feed-ins, including 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.
14,000 tons of mast steel
Tennet secured all the necessary materials early on in order to be able to build the line quickly: around 14,000 tons of mast steel and almost 1,800 kilometers of conductor cables are ready.
Construction work is already underway in the other two sections and should be completed soon. The entire replacement structure with a total of 235 masts is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. The existing line will be dismantled after the new line is commissioned in 2027.
