The Role of Electricity Transmission Infrastructure

Abstract

The infrastructure required to assure a reliable, clean, and economic electricity system is among the crucial conditions that have to be established for the energiewende to succeed. This chapter summarizes issues surrounding electricity transmission in the context of the energiewende. Even though infrastructure is an important ingredient of the energiewende, its importance has been exaggerated in the policy debate and in the public debate as well. Often hailed as a “critical factor” in the energiewende—and sometimes as the final nail in its coffin—transmission infrastructure has not been a demonstrable obstacle to the energiewende thus far, thanks to the highly developed network inherited from the old system and its continuous improvement over the last decade. Even in the medium term—that is, into the 2020s—no serious roadblocks for the energiewende are to be expected, provided that the transmission system operators (TSOs) and regulatory agencies stick to the path of transmission expansion that has proven reliable so far. Sections 8.2 and 8.3 describe network planning and development from its inception in the 2000s until today. Over this period, a new method of transmission planning has been implemented, creating more transparency for transmission policies, which had not been open to public scrutiny under the old system. Section 8.4 then traces a decade of network development in Germany. As elaborated in detail, rates of transmission investment remain consistent over the years, and important connections, such as links between the former GDR and West Germany have been completed. Section 8.5 discusses the current debate of introducing multiple price zones in Germany. Moreover, it summarizes results of a study on the effects of establishing multiple price zones in Germany suggesting that there is no need to split the German electricity market into zones. Section 8.6 details an interesting recent development: the explicit integration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) constraints into network planning. Finally, Sect. 8.7 concludes.

In the simplest—and most recommended—regulatory approach, a plan for transmission network expansion would be prepared by the System Operator …The transmission facilities that are included in the plan will be built … under some kind of cost-of-service remuneration. … The simple idea behind this simple scheme that is in use in several countries is just to make the business of transmission investment as “unexciting” (“boring” or “uneventful”) as possible. Sophistication and complexity in transmission planning—“leaving it to the market,” for instance—only cause indecision by investors, higher capital costs and—most frequently—lack of investment.

Luis Olmos, and Ignacio Perez-Arriaga (2009, 5286): A comprehensive approach for computation and implementation of efficient electricity transmission network charges.

This chapter is based on a series of papers and studies carried out in the Masmie and EE-Netze projects supported by the Stiftung Mercator, and complemented by other research papers (see references); it has been updated from it has been updated from Chap. 2 of my dissertation (Gerbaulet 2017). The modeling work was carried out using various versions of ELMOD, a European-wide electricity market and network model developed by Leuthold et al. (2012) and updated by Egerer et al. (2014). Thanks to Friedrich Kunz, Alexander Weber, and the entire ELMOD team for support and advice; the usual disclaimer applies.