The construction, expansion and conversion of electricity lines are infrastructural measures that affect many interests, like building development, agriculture and nature conservation. That is why the legislator has clearly arranged the processes for the planning and approval, such as in the German Energy Industry Act, among others.
A key planning instrument for grid development in Germany is the Grid Development Plan (GDP/NEP) for electricity. The LanWin3 offshore grid connection system (NOR-11-1) was confirmed in the 2037/2045 GDP of 2023 as part of the North Sea offshore expanded grid. The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) awarded a capacity of 2,000 megawatts to the wind farm.
In the permitting procedure for LanWin3, three permits need to be obtained from various planning approval authorities, as the cable route runs through different areas of competence. The planning approval procedure primarily deals with the “how” of the construction project (specification of the location, structures, technical implementation). Formal public participation plays an important part here. In any case, the legally responsible authorities shall be involved. During the permit procedure, the public is formally involved in accordance with the legal requirements.
50Hertz supports this with informal public participation, also known as citizen dialogue. Citizen dialogue builds on 50Hertz's own experiences, not on legal stipulations. This difference is important, as the citizen dialogue ends where the formal public participation laid down by law begins (see also ‘Transparency and public participation’).
(1) Permit for converter platform and offshore route in EEZ
For the converter platform and the line route in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the North Sea, the federal government and therefore the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie, BSH) is the competent permitting authority. The planning approval procedure for the EEZ covers the route section and offshore converter platform located there. It must furthermore undergo a certification process of the BSH.
The BSH specifies the exact location of the platform within the wind farm. 50Hertz is planning, building and operating the platform as the project developer.
(2) Permit for offshore route in coastal waters
In the coastal waters, the state of Schleswig-Holstein is responsible for planning. The office for planning approval at the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of Schleswig-Holstein is competent for the planning approval proceedings.
In order to minimise the impact of the environment, it is important to keep the length of the submarine cable as short as possible and to bundle the new route with other lines. That is why 50Hertz is working together with TenneT to lay the submarine cables as parallel as possible to the planned lines of the LanWin2 project.
(3) Permit for the onshore route
From the landing point near Büsum, where the submarine cable reaches the mainland, the electricity generated at sea is transported to the land-side multi-terminal hub along the onshore route by means of an underground cable.
For the onshore route permit, 50Hertz and TenneT are preparing the application documents for the planning approval by the office for planning approval at the Ministry for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature of Schleswig-Holstein.