According to the prognoses from the draft scenario framework of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA), the installed capacity of all renewable generating units will more than double, from 26.6 to 55 GW, between 2019 and 2035 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt alone. At the same time, Germany is phasing out nuclear energy, and even the coal-fired power plants are gradually going off the grid. Gas-fired power plants and the distributed development of renewables cannot completely replace this decrease.
In view of this evolution, the SuedOstLink contributes to secure the supply to consumers in South Germany and to guarantee the system stability in the German and European transmission system.
The need for a DC connection between Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria has been part of the Grid Development Plans of the transmission system operators since 2012.
The Federal Network Agency also continuously verified and confirmed its necessity. Most recently, this confirmation could be found in the Grid Development Plan for 2030, dated December 2019. The need was laid down in the Federal Requirements Plan Act as project no. 5 with the grid connection points Wolmirstedt and Isar.
The transmission system operators calculated the need for additional transmission capacity between the area of Klein Rogahn and Isar in the Grid Development Plans for 2030 of 2017 and 2019 for the respective forward-looking scenarios. The legislator again included the line connection between Klein Rogahn and Isar as project no. 5a in the Federal Requirements Plan Act in February 2021. At the same time, the possibility to also install conduits in the scope of project no. 5 was dropped by the amendment.
The complete text of the Federal Requirements Plan Act