Project control and coordination in the SuedLink project

Location: Glückstadt, Hannover, Würzburg (Germany)

System/Technology: HVDC Transmission

Services: Project management, Documentation

Industry Branch/Type of Plant: Infrastructure Projects, Green Energy, Transmission & Distribution

Client: Jacobs

Activity period: 2020 - 2021

Tasks

SuedLink is a grid expansion project, that will be implemented by both transmission system operators, TenneT and TransnetBW. It consists of two DC power transmission lines between Wilster and Bergrheinfeld/West and between Brunsbüttel and Großgartach (Leingarten). They are being engineered, built, and operated at the same time. In 2015, an underground cable priority for all DC power transmission lines was legally adopted. According to this statute, SuedLink is planned to be 100 percent underground cable. SuedLink is the largest energy transition project in Germany. Upon completion, it will transport a total of 4 GW of wind energy from northern Germany to Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg.

Project description

With an investment of approximately ten billion euros, around 700 kilometers of underground cable will be laid for SuedLink. Once completed, the DC power line will connect the windy regions of northern Germany with the consumption centers in the south of the Federal Republic. In order to efficiently maneuver through the next approval procedure and manage the subsequent construction, the contractors, TenneT and TransnetBW, have appointed a Central Service Provider (CSP) for their respective areas of responsibility. The purpose is to coordinate and manage various aspects such as engineering/planning, permitting, obtaining easements, and construction (planning costs) from a single source for the respective transmission system operator. This makes SuedLink the first large-scale project in Germany to use this form of centralized control with the help of a partner.