A safe and efficient transmission grid is the backbone of the Austrian business location and a fundamental requirement for the further expansion of renewable energies and the achievement of the Austrian and European climate protection goals.
The Master Plan Grid 2009–2020 was prepared by Austrian Power Grid AG as the basis for medium- and long-term grid planning. The foreseeable developments in the energy market in the period 2009 to 2020 were analysed in detail and the necessary expansion steps in the APG transmission grid were defined.
The results of all of the relevant calculations point at massive increases in grid loads up to 2020 and a pressing need for the further expansion of the APG transmission grid. This applies not only to the transmission lines in Austria but also to the cross-border lines.
The master plan projects, based on the grid load calculations, which need to be implemented by 2020 are:
- 380-kV Salzburg-line, project part 1 (St. Peter - Salzburg)
- 380-kV Salzburg-line, project part 2 (Salzburg - Tauern)
- Integration of wind energy in Burgenland
- Reinforcement of the grid to facilitate the integration of wind energy in the Vienna district and to cover consumption increases in Lower Austria
- Reinforcement of the grid in the Carinthia region
- Reinforcement of the grid connection to Germany
- Changeover of the Danube line to 380 kV
- Reinforcement between West Tyrol – Zell/Ziller
The necessary grid expansion measures require investments in the amount of approx. € 1 billion. The domestic value added created through these projects lies at approx. 80% - a contribution to the national economy that will secure more than 1,000 jobs per year up to 2020.