The massive expansion of Germany's electricity networks to cope with the country's transition away from nuclear to a high share of renewable energy will require investments of up to €42.5 billion by 2030. This estimated cost was published in a new report by the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH, or Dena).
The overall extent of expansion and investment needed over the next two decades will depend on how high the share of renewable energy generation will actually be. Current planned targets will necessitate an expansion of 135,000 km by 2030. More rapid development of wind and solar power would necessitate a network expansion of 193,000 km. In excess of 20,000 km of network will also need to be replaced.
New power lines and transformers will be required at all distribution networks, and existing high voltage overhead transmission lines will need to be replaced.
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