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The Energieküste is the location for the future of renewable energies, generating electricity for large parts of Germany. To ensure it reaches the places where it is needed, HVDC links such as Corridor B are being developed.
Bringing wind power from the north to its destination
In order for Germany to achieve its climate targets, more wind farms will be built in northern Germany in the coming decades. The electricity generated there must be transported in large quantities to where it is also needed: to the centres of consumption in western Germany. This is what Corridor B is for. The new electricity connection makes a central contribution to supplying Germany's largest conurbation, the Ruhr region, with climate-friendly electricity.
One corridor, two projects, four federal states
Corridor B is an important north-south connection for the energy transition. It consists of line construction projects No. 48 (Heide/West - Polsum) and No. 49 (Wilhelmshaven - Hamm) of the Federal Requirements Plan Act (BBPlG). The new power connection runs through the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Connection point in the Ruhr area
A lot of wind power is already generated at the starting points in Schleswig-Holstein and in the north of Lower Saxony. So far, there are no transmission lines to transport the growing amounts of electricity to other regions in Germany. Additional demand is arising in the Ruhr region in particular. This is because the coal-fired power plants there will be taken off the grid in the 2030s. Wind power from the north will help to close this supply gap.
HVDC underground cable
Corridor B is planned as an underground cable with extra-high voltage direct current transmission (HVDC). This technology makes it possible to transport large amounts of electricity over long distances with low losses. The transmission capacity totals four gigawatts. This corresponds to the electrical output of about five large coal-fired power plants. Corridor B can supply around 5 million people with electricity. Construction of Corridor B is going into operation in the early 2030s.
