GERMANY — With its approx. 700 km (434 miles) SuedLink is one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in Europe.
With the movement to switch to renewable energy sources increasind each day, the power grids of both today and tomorrow will be facing a broad spectrum of new challenges that will require a rapid expansion of the infrastructure. In Germany a total of 7 500 km (4 660 miles) of transmission network should be optimized, strengthened, or newly over the next few years.
High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission links, such as SuedLink, the new wind power line, is supposed play a key role in this upgrade. It should enable low-loss energy transport over long distances as well as the integration of wind power from the North and of solar power from the South of Germany into the transmission grid.
The converters required for the project will be supplied by Siemens Energy. Together with the project owners, the transmission grid operators TenneT and TransnetBW, and further project members Siemens will also carry out the site-specific planning of the facilities for the section between the grid interconnection points of Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein and Leingarten/Großgartach in Baden-Württemberg.
"The construction of SuedLink, the largest grid expansion project in Germany, is crucial to the success of the energy transition," says Tim Meyerjürgens, Managing Director of TenneT. "The award of these converter stations is an important milestone in our efforts to implement this system. It proves that we have managed to make important progress on SuedLink despite difficult conditions during the COVID pandemic," Meyerjürgens went on.
"After Ultranet and SuedOstLink, SuedLink is the third high-voltage direct current corridor project in Germany to be implemented with HVDC systems from Siemens Energy. We are pleased that our technology ensures that renewable electricity can be transported to where it is needed," said Beatrix Natter, Executive Vice President Transmission at Siemens Energy.
With its approx. 700 km (434 miles) SuedLink is one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in Europe. The converter stations at its end points should be able to convert direct current into alternating current and alternating current into direct current. In addition to active power, the systems is supposed to also independently control reactive power, which should allow them to respond flexibly to fluctuations in generation and consumption in the grid.
Source: Siemens Energy