To bring about Germany's (now accelerated) plans to dramatically increase its reliance on renewable energy sources it needs to adapt and modernise its energy grid. Much of the country's wind power will come from offshore wind parks in the north, in the future, but the high-voltage power line capacity necessary to delivering that power to the south does not yet exist. The German Energy Agency (dena) anticipates that 3600 km of such lines will be required by 2020. So far, a mere 100 km has been installed.
There may be an alternative. According to Germany's transport minister Peter Ramsauer, the government in Berlin is looking into the possibility of using the existing network belonging to Germany's federal railways. Deutsche Bahn's grid of high-voltage power lines, at 7800 kilometers, is the second largest in the country after that of energy giant RWE. The network, the government hopes, could be modified to transport energy to the south and plug other holes in the grid.
'A close co-operation with Deutsche Bahn relating to the expansion of the power grid is something that I find attractive,' said German economics minister Rainer Brüderle. European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger commented that such a pilot project in Germany would be 'very useful.'
Although chancellor Angela Merkel announced an 'energy revolution' last autumn, the nuclear disaster in Fukushima (Japan) has resulted in something of a re-think and put the emphasis more firmly on renewable energy. Merkel's administration immediately shut down seven nuclear reactors just days after the earthquake and resulting tsunami that fatally crippled the Fukushima plant. Those reactors are likely to be taken permanently off the grid and Merkel's government is working on an accelerated phase out of nuclear energy in Germany.
But the question is far from straightforward. Plans for high-voltage lines have run up against resistance in many parts of the country as locals have protested the creation of what are being dubbed 'energy autobahns' through their backyards. Environmental concerns centering on animal habitat have also emerged as a seriously contentious issue.
There are also many practical concerns connected to bringing high voltage cable close to travelled routes and areas in which maintenance personnel regularly work, and the cost of the alernative underground siting, as well as other issues. The scheme could for instance require the re-training of track maintenance and power line maintenance personnel, and new policies or regulations for passenger safety, insurance and so on. The German rail grid would have to be significantly modified were it to be used for delivering power from the north to the south. Voltages would have to be adapted and new pylons and cable would likely have to be installed. Deutsche Bahn experts have said it could cost up to €250 000 per km. But that is only one quarter of the cost of an entirely new grid.
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