Amprion to present German north-south power line plans in mid-2024

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German grid firm Amprion plans to finalise the planning stage for its 8 gigawatt (GW) north-south Rhein-Main-Link power line by the end of June next year, with a view to having 2 GW of it built by 2033.

The project aims to link anticipated North Sea wind turbines, where high wind speeds allow for near constant power generation, and rising electricity demand from data centres, transport and heating clusters in Germany's Rhein-Main region.

The Rhein-Main-Link, which will run over 500 km and have a capacity equivalent to the consumption of eight million people, will be another step in Germany's strategy to supply carbon-free power to southern industrial regions opting out of fossil fuels.

"(It) should bring up to 8 GW of offshore wind energy directly to Hesse state and strengthen the local economy there," Amprion, which is 25% owned by RWE, said on Wednesday.

Hesse's annual power demand is expected to rise 150% to 85 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2037 from 34 TWh now.

"For speed, we will avail ourselves of a new preferential space allocation procedure offered by (energy regulator) Bundesnetzagentur," Amprion added in a statement.

This new procedure came under new laws enacted by the government of Europe's biggest economy to speed up renewables, which Amprion said had already saved two years.

Germany's offshore wind capacity is currently 8.1 GW but is due to rise to 30 GW by 2030, and to 70 GW by 2045.

The regulator is due to put up for public consultation planned spaces for remaining parts of the underground cable route, which will be bunched with other identified feeder and distribution lines, by the end of November, Amprion said.

Amprion operates 11,000 kms (6,835 miles) of high-voltage transport grids.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Alexander Smith)