SUNfarming at the Southwest Grid Development Forum in Oelixdorf

The forum brought together a variety of companies connected with Schleswig-Holstein Netz AG (SH-Netz) – from pure feeders to battery project developers to municipal representatives. However, the majority of attendees were feeders. The main goal of the forum was to facilitate mutual acquaintance, understand the current situation of SH-Netz, and work together on solutions. Additionally, SH-Netz's plans and roadmap for the coming years and decades were presented, including the future grid development in Schleswig-Holstein.

Some of the exciting information shared during the forum included SH-Netz's ambitious goals for 2024. SH-Netz plans to connect an additional 2000 MW. The three essential components of their target grid are:

1. Grid Coupling Points: Over 20 new 380/110 kV substations with a capacity of around 1 GW
2. 110 kV Overhead Lines: 950 km of new 110 kV overhead lines
3. 110 kV Substations: 100 new 110/20 kV substations

However, grid expansion also brings significant challenges, including long approval times of 2-4 years, skilled labor shortages, material delivery times of over 3 years, and land acquisition times of 1-3 years. Additionally, the planning basis is complex due to unpredictable feeder requests and load fluctuations. In addition to grid expansion, SH-Netz is significantly increasing the number of annual connections. Currently, 104,700 installations are connected to the grid, and a yearly increase of over 50,000 installations is forecasted for 2024-2026.

SUNfarming looks forward to working together with SH-Netz and other partners to successfully implement these ambitious plans and further advance the energy transition in Schleswig-Holstein.