380 kV overhead line Pasewalk – Bertikow

Project in scope of Federal Requirements Plan

The need for grid capacity is determined by means of annual forecasts made by 50Hertz, based on a questionnaire sent to all distribution system operators and the operators of REA (Renewable Energy Act, in German: Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz) installations directly connected to the transmission system. The demand calculated by 50Hertz is based on the following REA feed-in capacities or REA energy being returned to the high voltage transmission grid.

Substation Bertikow: direct connection of wind farm and biomass installation
Substation Pasewalk: site shared with competent DSO

In the next few years, the capacity of the REA installations in the vicinity of the planned line will increase with nearly two gigawatts. This equals the capacity of two large-scale power plants. In the future, the planned generation by conventional power stations will also need to be transported. The exact composition of the feed-in forecast of lead scenario B 2022 for the different federated states is described in the adopted grid development plan 2012 (GDP, in German: Netzentwicklungsplan).

Mandatory bundling requires parallel routing

The planned 380 kV overhead line to connect Bertikow to Pasewalk has a total length of almost 30 kilometres, consisting of two sections, one of 20 kilometres in Brandenburg and one of 10 kilometres in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

When planning the route, 50Hertz respected the bundling principle: environmental planning and nature conservation legislation requires that the impact on nature is kept to the absolute minimum. Therefore the new line follows, for the most part, the route of the current 220 kV line between the Bertikow substation (Brandenburg) and the substation Pasewalk (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). Deviations from the old route are possible to increase the distance to populated areas or to reduce the existing impact on the environment. The starting point of the line is located in Pasewalk in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, from where it heads south across the border with Brandenburg and continues to Bertikow, near Prenzlau.

After commissioning of the 380 kV overhead line and the appropriate testing period, the disassembly of the 220 kV line section is planned for those sections running parallel to the 380 kV line.

Federal sectoral planning: application conference on 24 September 2014

As the competent authority for the procedure, the Federal Network Agency (FNA) held an application conference for the federal sectoral planning on 24 September 2014 in the city hall of Torgelow. The application conference is held to determine the study scope for the application for federal sectoral planning (according to § 8 of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG)). To this end, 50Hertz drew up documents (application for a permit as per § 6 NABEG), which were published by the Federal Network Agency. 

In an overview of all route corridor variants with bundling opportunities, 50Hertz summarised the different options determined for a route corridor. The analysis of the available spatial planning data allowed the identification of three basic trajectories in combination with existing infrastructures: with the highway in the east, along the existing high voltage transmission line in the centre and along an existing 110 kV overhead line in the west. As a result of intersections, a total of 13 variants resulted for a possible project corridor. 

The application conference was the first major step in the authorisation procedure. At the conference, the determined variants for the route corridor were explained and discussed. By involving all relevant regional institutions and the public, the Federal Network Agency determines which documents 50Hertz should edit before final official assessment. After the application documents have been drawn up in conformity with § 8 of the NABEG, the citizens and representatives of public interests will be able to consult the final planning documents for the last time in the scope of a formal participation procedure and express their objections and suggestions.

In conclusion of the federal sectoral planning, the FNA determines an environmentally compatible corridor with a width of 500 to 1000 metres, depending on local circumstances. The course of the corridor and the overhead line interconnection point between the federated states become part of the federal grid plan and are therefore binding for the subsequent planning and authorisation procedure.

A final route layout with exact pylon positions and heights can only be drawn up in the second phase of the authorisation procedure, i.e. the plan approval procedure initiated following the federal sectoral planning. In this planning and authorisation phase, the participation of the directly affected land owners plays an important role, as following the final route layout, the temporary or permanent use of the land can be considered and assessed in specific detail.

The regulations under which the overhead line construction is requested are laid down in the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG), in the Federal Requirements Plan Act and other legislation. More information on the procedure can be found on the website of the NABEG and the federal sectoral planning.