Neuenhagen, 17 February 2025 – Electrons can now travel along a new north-south freeway. Today, a key infrastructure project for the energy transition officially came online with the commissioning ceremony of the Uckermark Line, consisting of two subprojects. The new 380-kV overhead lines between the substations of Pasewalk in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bertikow, Vierraden and Neuenhagen in Brandenburg increase the electricity transmission capacity about threefold. As such, a bottleneck in the grid that has been critical for years is now relieved and a significantly larger volume of electricity generated from renewable sources can successfully be integrated into the electricity system.

  • The Uckermark Line contributes to a secure and sustainable supply of green energy and makes a major contribution to achieving German and European climate targets.
  • The new 380-kV overhead lines between Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg increase the electricity transmission capacity threefold.
  • The new extra-high voltage lines relieve grid congestion and cut costs for electricity consumers by as much as €230 million.

For a long time, residents, action groups and authorities have been striving towards a more environmentally friendly route and construction project for the southern section of the Uckermark Line, part of which crosses the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve. That is why all parties involved were even more pleased that the project now came to a good end. High-ranking political representatives attended the ceremony, including Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Daniel Keller, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Action of the state of Brandenburg and Dr Wolfgang Blank, Minister of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Many other guests from authorities, partner companies and involved cities and municipalities accepted 50Hertz’s invitation to the substation in Neuenhagen bei Berlin.

Stefan Kapferer, CEO of 50Hertz: “We at 50Hertz are of course pleased with each new power line that is connected to the grid in our control area, but especially so when it comes to the Uckermark Line. The new overhead line between Pasewalk and Neuenhagen reduces the curtailment of wind turbines and photovoltaic installations by as much as one billion kilowatt-hours per year. This corresponds to the combined electricity consumption of the two state capitals Potsdam and Schwerin. As a result, the financial burden of the electricity consumer is reduced by up to €230 million per year. It is therefore good news that this important project has finally reached its successful conclusion.”

Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action: “We have been eagerly awaiting the commissioning of the Uckermark Line for a long time. Meanwhile, the share of renewable energy has only continued to increase. Thanks to this new overhead line, it will be substantially easier to securely inject solar and wind power into the grid. This strengthens the energy supply to the region and far beyond it. The Uckermark Line also forges a powerful connection between the German and Polish electricity markets, thus increasing the security of supply in both countries. The project is therefore an important building block on the road towards a secure, affordable and environmentally friendly energy supply and for the development of Germany as an economic hub.”

Daniel Keller, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Climate Action of the state of Brandenburg: “Grid development is a key success factor for the energy transition. Today is therefore a momentous occasion: the completion of the Uckermark Line is a significant milestone for the energy supply of Brandenburg and Germany as a whole. I am pleased that this major project has now finally reached its successful conclusion after many years of planning, permitting and implementation. All parties involved can learn from the preceding and quite lengthy process and deduce specific improvements. In the last few years, Brandenburg already did its share, for instance by enlarging the workforce of the competent State Office for Mining, Geology and Raw Materials in Cottbus. For the economy of Brandenburg, it is important that the key infrastructure projects for the energy transition continue to be given high priority and handled with even greater speed.”

Dr Wolfgang Blank, Minister of Economics, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: “Good things come to those who wait. Today is a good day for the energy transition and for all electricity consumers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Thanks to this new high voltage power line, the wind and solar power generated in our state will be transported to other regions more efficiently. It is our clear expectation that the resulting reduction in grid fees will benefit our companies and citizens.”

The overall Uckermark Line project consists of the construction of the new 380-kV Bertikow-Pasewalk overhead line (BBPlG project 11) and the construction of the new extra-high voltage Neuenhagen-Bertikow-Vierraden-Krajnik line (EnLAG project 3). As a key infrastructure project, these two overhead lines, with a combined length of some 150 kilometres, will contribute to the secure and sustainable supply of green energy and, as such, make a major contribution to achieving the German and European climate targets.

The northern section of the overall Uckermark Line project covers a distance of around 30 kilometres from the Pasewalk substation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to the Bertikow substation in Brandenburg; part of this section runs along an existing route, and it runs mostly parallel to the A20 motorway. This is the first project in Germany to have its planning approved by the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) in application of the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (Netzausbaubeschleunigungsgesetz, NABEG). The southern section of the Uckermark Line is around 123 kilometres long and connects the substations of Bertikow near Prenzlau, Vierraden near Schwedt and Neuenhagen, north-east of Berlin. The latter section considerably deviates from the route of the old Uckermark Line, which ran straight through the middle of the Schorfheide-Chorin biosphere reserve. From Vierraden on, there is also a direct connection with the Polish power grid. Along the Bertikow-Pasewalk section, a total of 80 new pylons will be erected, and 366 new pylons will be built between Bertikow and Neuenhagen.

Source: 50Hertz