50Hertz is obliged by law to connect the wind farms in the Baltic Sea and manage the overall electricity system in Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The grid connection for so-called coastal water projects, in this case the Gennaker offshore wind farm, is realised in accordance with § 17d (6) of the German energy industry act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz, EnWG).
Permit for offshore route and offshore substations
The offshore route and substations are located in the coastal waters and therefore within the area of jurisdiction of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. For the submarine cable and the two offshore substations, a joint planning approval procedure is planned. The authority in charge of the procedure is the Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (WM M-V).
In order to limit the environmental impact to a minimum, 50Hertz plans large parts of the offshore route in a corridor that was already surveyed with regard to spatial planning and will bundle it with existing and planned submarine cables. The other part of the offshore route will be located in the buffer strip of the offshore wind farm.
For infrastructure projects like the OST-6-1 grid connection, the first planning step consists in studying the need for a spatial planning procedure (ROV). As the OST-6-1 grid connection will mostly run within an already approved cable corridor, 50Hertz is of the opinion that there is no need for the ROV and has notified the Ministry of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (WM M-V) of this in accordance with §15 (5) sentence 2 of the German spatial planning act (Raumordnungsgesetz, ROG).
If the authority does not consider a spatial planning procedure to be necessary either, the planning approval procedure will be started up as a next step.
The planning approval procedure is a comprehensive and detailed permit review, which also determines whether the building permit for the project is granted or not. Simply put, the planning approval procedure primarily deals with the “where” and “how” of the construction project (such as the specification of the location, structures, technical implementation etc.). During the approval procedure, the legally responsible authorities, environmental associations and the general public are formally involved in accordance with the applicable legal stipulations. 50Hertz also organises an early public participation campaign in support of this procedure (also referred to as ‘citizen dialogue’) even before the planning approval procedure has started (see also Transparency and Public Participation).
Permit for the onshore route
The area where the submarine cables first reach land is called the landing area. It marks the transition from sea to land. From here, the electricity generated at sea is transported to the point of common connection, which will be located in an onshore substation that still needs to be constructed.
As large parts of the onshore route also fall within an already approved cable corridor, 50Hertz is planning to submit a notification for the waiver of the spatial planning procedure in accordance with §15 (5) sentence to of the German spatial planning act (Raumordnungsgesetz, ROG) for this part of the OST-6-1 project as well.
If the authority does not consider a spatial planning procedure to be necessary either, the planning approval procedure will be started up as a next step.
The planning approval procedure is a comprehensive and detailed permit review, which also determines whether the building permit for the project is granted or not. Simply put, the planning approval procedure primarily deals with the “where” and “how” of the construction project (such as the specification of the location, structures, technical implementation etc.).
During the approval procedure, the legally responsible authorities, environmental associations and the general public are formally involved in accordance with the applicable legal stipulations. 50Hertz also organises an early public participation campaign in support of this procedure (also referred to as ‘citizen dialogue’) even before the planning approval procedure has started (see also Transparency and Public Participation).
Permit for onshore substation
The 220-kilovolt (kV) alternating current cables will be connected to the German extra-high-voltage grid in a substation, the so-called point of common connection. The necessary transformation of the voltage level from 220 to 380 kV takes place in this substation.
In connection with the planned upgrade of 220-kV overhead lines in the region to the 380-kV level, construction of a new substation is also planned in the Sanitz/Gnewitz/Dettmannsdorf/Marlow survey area. The overall project “Grid reinforcement in the Rostock region” was confirmed in the German federal requirements plan act (Bundesbedarfsplangesetz, BBPlG) in 2021. The substation will be approved in a separate procedure under the German federal immission control act (Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz, BImSChG).