The minister has granted permission, among other things to make it possible to incorporate the increased volume of renewable energy resulting from the future wind power expansion into the electricity grid. In addition, the new high-voltage overhead line is required to ensure a future well-functioning electricity market without significant congestion.

Having obtained the minister’s permission, Energinet.dk now has the two overall permits which are needed to proceed with the project, as the Danish Nature Agency granted Energinet.dk an EIA approval to establish the system at the end of December 2010.

The new 400 kV double-circuit line will be installed on a single row of towers. The towers are newly developed tubular towers which are designed to blend more into the landscape than the existing lattice towers. The line will replace the approx. 45-year-old single-circuit line operating on the section today and which will be pulled down once the new line has been commissioned. The extra circuit system means that the new interconnection will be able to transmit more than twice as much power as the existing power line, and that security of supply can be maintained even if one of the circuit systems is out of operation.

“The new 400 kV line in Jutland will be an important element in the energy sy-stem of tomorrow and, together with new interconnections to our neighbouring countries, it will help to future-proof the electricity grid. We are therefore very pleased that we can get started on the much needed renewal and reinforcement of the power transmission grid in Jutland,” says Torben Glar Nielsen, Executive Vice President, Electricity Division, Energinet.dk.

“We are also happy that, after having been granted permission by the Danish Nature Agency and the minister, we are now in a position to inform the citizens living along the section about what the new line will mean for them and their homes. We have done all that we could do to maintain an ongoing dialogue with neighbours and landowners on the development of the project. It has, neverthe-less, been a long and difficult process for many citizens from when the plans were introduced in Southern Jutland – the first time in 1995 and then again in 2003 – and up until today when the detailed line routing is being decided and when we have initiated negotiations on compensation,” says Torben Glar Nielsen.

With a budget of DKK 2.7 billion, the new line will be ready for operation in 2014.

Lykke Friis, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, has just granted Energinet.dk permission to establish the installations which will carry the power on-shore from the Anholt wind farm. This allows Energinet.dk to proceed with two very large installation projects which will both ensure that large volumes of wind power can be incorporated into the Danish power system.

Further information
Torben Glar Nielsen, Energinet.dk, phone +45 23 33 89 00
Christian Jensen, Energinet.dk, phone +45 23 33 86 36