Weinviertel line
With the replacement construction of the Weinviertel line, APG is ensuring a sustainable grid connection now and in the future and thus a secure power supply in your region and throughout Lower Austria.
The new line is a basis for the continued integration of wind and solar energy and its distribution throughout the region and across Austria.
The new Weinviertel line was commissioned in summer 2022 and is making a significant contribution to the success of the energy transition and the electrification of the economy, industry and society.
Project ticker
All current information about the project at a glance.
Project ticker
All current information about the project at a glance.
- Update
- Milestone
Open day
After the Weinviertel line and the Zaya substation successfully went into operation last year, APG and Netz NÖ are inviting all neighbors to an open day at the substations of the Austrian transmission system operator Austrian Power Grid (APG) and Netz Niederösterreich GmbH of EVN in Neusiedl an der Zaya on 2 June 2023 from 1:00 - 6:00 pm.
There is no parking available at the Zaya substation. You can therefore park at the sports field, from where a shuttle service runs to the substation every quarter of an hour.
If the open day cannot take place due to the weather, you can find more information here.
Attention: Electric and magnetic fields occur in the high-voltage system. No access for wearers of electromechanical implants such as pacemakers or implanted defibrillators, as well as pregnant women
Demontage
Almost exactly four years after the decision to build the new Weinviertel pipeline, the last foundation of the former existing pipeline has now been successfully removed - completing the dismantling work on the Weinviertel pipeline.
In the process, some of the 255 pylons of the former existing pipeline were removed using a helicopter. This is not only efficient and time-saving, but also protects the soil.</p
Dismantling work on the existing pipeline is going according to plan
Directly after the successful commissioning of the new Weinviertel line in summer 2022, the dismantling work on the existing line has also begun. Part of the pylons will be removed by helicopter and transported away. After a brief period of bad weather, the pylon locations in the Weinviertel region, which can only be reached via natural ground, have already been dismantled by helicopter.
Thanks to optimized planning and execution, the project is well on schedule. "The high level of motivation during the complex preparations by the Weinviertel line project team was matched by the executing partners with a remarkable dismantling rate of around 4 pylons per hour (3 approaches per pylon)," emphasizes Andreas Pischel, project manager of the Weinviertel line, with praise.
In the meantime, 228 of 255 pylons have already been successfully dismantled. The remaining 27 pylons will be removed at the beginning of next year. In addition to removing the pylons, the foundations also have to be dismantled. Here, too, the work is proceeding according to plan in coordination with the ecological construction supervisors and, of course, the landowners.
Ceremonial commissioning of the Weinviertel pipeline
The Weinviertel line and therefore also the substation in Neusiedl an der Zaya are going into full operation as planned. The information event on commissioning took place in Neusiedl an der Zaya on 12.09.2022. At the invitation of APG, Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the two EVN board members Stefan Szyskowitz and Franz Mittermayer, Mayor Andreas Keller as well as APG Supervisory Board Chairman Peter F. Kollmann and APG CEO Gerhard Christiner attended the event.
The completed Weinviertel line will make a decisive contribution to the secure supply of electricity in Austria and Lower Austria in APG's high-voltage grid. In future, it will feed up to 3,000 MW of renewable energy from Lower Austria into APG's supra-regional grid and make it usable throughout Austria. A milestone for the secure energy transition.
Commissioning
After just three years of construction, all work has now been completed and both the Weinviertel line and the Zaya substation will go into operation in summer 2022.
The Zaya substation fulfils a particularly important function as an additional grid support for the regional distribution grid operator Netz NÖ. At the new feed-in point, the wind and solar power produced in the Weinviertel region is fed into APG's supra-regional grid, allowing it to be distributed and used throughout Austria
The project planning and implementation focused on taking into account all the interests of protecting people and nature as well as bundling existing infrastructure. The new route will completely relieve the nature reserve of the Bernhardsthaler Ebene and implement a route corridor away from residential areas
.Construction work on the home straight
Construction of the Weinviertel line and the Zaya substation is progressing in leaps and bounds. The line will go into operation in less than a year.
The pylon erection work has been successfully completed in all three construction lots. The cable pulling work has also made good progress and is around 75 percent complete.
Work at the Zaya substation itself has also progressed well. The transformers have been upgraded and the construction technology is ready, which means that all buildings, foundations and cable ducts have been completed. The 380 kV and 220 kV GIS systems are fully installed and have undergone a high-voltage test. All system components are currently being tested.
Every road leads to the Zaya substation (transformer transport)
At the heart of every substation are the transformers. These transform the voltage from APG's high-voltage level to the voltage level of the regional distribution grid operators and vice versa.
The first transformer arrived at its new workplace in mid-May 2021. Like its successors - which were then delivered in June and September - the 300-tonne colossus undertook a journey lasting several days. The journey led from the Siemens plant in Weiz by train to Hohenau an der March. There it was lifted onto a low-loader using a lifting frame, which then transported it as a special transport to its foundation in the Zaya substation.
<pA transformer called "Carlo"
In July 2021, an old tradition was brought back to life at the Neusiedl a. d. Zaya substation - the transformer naming ceremony. Karl Wilfing, President of the Lower Austrian Parliament, took over the sponsorship. In the presence of APG Technical Director Gerhard Christiner, EVN Board Directors Stefan Szyszkowitz and Franz Mittermayer, Mayor Andreas Keller, Fire Brigade Commander OBI Roman Stur and the media, he christened the 300-tonne transformer "Carlo", in keeping with its nickname.
"Just as I stand for the positive development of our country under electricity, the new transformer 'Carlo' will stand for the success of the energy transition and the sustainable safeguarding of the electricity supply under electricity. I am therefore delighted to take over the sponsorship of the 300-ton 'Carlo'. It is part of Lower Austria's climate and energy roadmap and shows how important it is to move from targets to action," said a delighted Karl Wilfing, President of the Lower Austrian Parliament.
<p62 km
€132m
202
2,100
approx. €200m
Summer 2022
Informational event on the commissioning of the Weinviertel line
Project Roadmap
Commissioning
Weinviertel line and Zaya substation go into operation
.Cable system
Start of construction for the pipeline system
.Baustart
Start of construction for the Zaya substation
.Oral hearings at the BVwG
Announcement of the positive outcome: the project is legally valid.</p
Federal Administrative Court
Start of the proceedings at the Federal Administrative Court (BvWG)
.Deadline for submitting comments on the decision
The EIA decision is available for public inspection in all project municipalities and at the Province of Lower Austria
.Authorization
APG wine district pipeline is approved by the Lower Austrian provincial government
<pNegotiation
Public hearing in the Historism Hall (Reichensteinhof - 2170 Poysdorf, Liechtensteinstraße 1)
.Deadline for submitting comments on the expert opinion
Opening of the environmental impact assessment for public inspection in all project municipalities
.Deadline for submitting comments on the project
Public display of the project documents for public inspection in all project municipalities
.Submission of project documents
Submission of the project documents (permit application, project description and environmental impact statement) for the environmental impact assessment procedure to the Province of Lower Austria.</p
Planning
Planning and preparation of the project documents and the environmental impact statement
<pFrequently asked questions - FAQ
The new 380-kV Weinviertel line runs from Seyring to the Zaya substation, which was rebuilt in connection with the project. At the Zaya substation, a new connection was made to the 110-kV grid in Lower Austria and to a 220-kV connection extending to the border with the Czech Republic.
APG's new Weinviertel line to replace the existing 220-kV line has had to be subjected to an official approval procedure pursuant to the 2000 Environmental Impact Assessment Act (Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungsgesetz 2000, UVP-G 2000). The Lower Austria state government was responsible for the approval process, since the planned line will be located exclusively in Lower Austrian territory.
When submitting the project for official review, APG therefore had to prove that the pipeline meets the legal requirements for the protection of people and nature. To prepare the detailed project planning documents, experts from 24 specialist areas carried out inspections at the site of the planned project.
This necessitated accessing private property along the planned line in some cases. The Lower Austrian state authorities granted APG a preliminary works approval notice in April 2015 as the legal basis for conducting the inspections.
Taking the initially planned cooridor as the basis, the corridor was fine-tuned step-by-step over the following 14 months until the current route of APG's Weinviertel line was finalised. In planning the route, the following criteria were of particular importance to APG and its employees:
- the involvement of communities, property owners and other local stakeholders in the planning process;
- consideration of all environmental or conservation interests relating to people and nature; and
- connections with the existing infrasturcture (Lower Austrian grid's 110-kV line, wind farms, etc.).
In addition, the many in-person discussions that APG project employees held with representatives of the communities along the route, the property owners affected and neighbouring parties were a crucial part of the overall planning process. This was the only way to come up with potential improvements to the proposed route plan and to discuss them with the parties involved at a local level. Many of the suggestions from the community and the property owners were incorporated into the plans and are now reflected in the probable route of APG's Weinviertel line replacement.
It was of great importance to Austrian Power Grid AG (APG) that individual stakeholders have been informed at an early stage during the entire duration of the “APG Weinviertel line replacement” project.
Of particular significance was involving the public in the route development process, providing comprehensive information on the individual project steps, ensuring open communication and working together constructively with members of the public and their political representatives.
The project team began initiating personal contact with the property owners at the same time the info letter was sent. To ensure that the process would be as simple as possible with direct contact and support during the entire duration of the project, the project area was divided into five sections, with each section being assigned to an APG employee as the direct contact person for the property owners. The contact information of the APG contact person responsible for each section was supplied to all property owners in the initial info letter.
One of the main requests received during the many discussions with property owners, neighbouring parties and community representatives during the planning phase related to optimising the placement of the pylons as well as the route. The discussions were successful in identifying potential improvements that could be taken into consideration in the route now defined.
At the end of the planning phase, all of the communities affected by APG’s Weinviertel line replacement were invited to a consultation day at which information was provided to all interested parties. Local residents were invited to attend the consultation day in their community through flyers circulated by bulk mail or ads in community newspapers, while property owners were sent individual letters.
In addition, a project folder containing information on each of the project phases was made available to interested parties.
In principle, a property can be claimed either by a pylon site itself or by an overvoltage - in this case, only the conductor cables and the associated servitude area run across the property. How the agricultural and forestry land claimed was compensated was regulated uniformly for all landowners in the APG Directive. Ensuring a uniform procedure and equal treatment of all landowners is a top priority for APG.
The guideline regulates the calculation of the amount of compensation for the easement agreements to be concluded with the landowners under private law and by mutual agreement. APG's guideline ensures a uniform, appropriate and cooperative approach to the assertion of land claims for the replacement construction of the APG Weinviertel pipeline and is divided into three sections:
- agricultural land
- forestry land
- general
If the claimed area was a plot of land used and dedicated for agricultural purposes, the compensation amount was determined on the basis of the guidelines. The different market values in the project region were also taken into account.
If the claimed area was a forest that had to be felled in the course of the construction of the powerline or during operation, the amount of the compensation payment was assessed by an expert on the basis of the Directive. The valuation was carried out according to the recognized methods of forest value calculation.
APG also undertook to compensate the damage to the land caused by the construction of the pipeline in accordance with the "Compensation guidelines for the use of agricultural and forestry land" issued by the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is made in an integrated approval process. That means that once an application for approval of a project is submitted, the responsible EIA authority (in the case of the Weinviertel line it was the Lower Austrian provincial government) proceeds to apply all substantive laws relevant to the project in an integrated procedure. The EIA authority then decides on the eligibility of the project for approval. In making the decision, extremely strict criteria are applied regarding the impact on people and nature.
Contact person
Andreas Pischel
Project lead
Stefan Walehrach
Project communication
Project information
The Weinviertel line is essential for the success of the energy transition. It feeds the increasing amount of wind power from the Weinviertel region into APG's supra-regional grid and make it usable throughout Austria. APG has invested around 200 million euros in the economic and living environment of Lower Austria.
The new line improves energy security and strengthen stability of supply in your region and in all of Lower Austria. Integrating wind and solar energy from the Weinviertel region into the grid is a key contribution to reaching the targets set in Lower Austria’s 2030 Climate and Energy Plan as well as the Austrian climate and energy targets.
The existing line was in need of renovation due to its long service life (around 70 years) and the route was no longer optimal for future requirements. It was therefore necessary to develop a new route that takes into account the geographical development of the power generation side: The new APG Weinviertel line runs from Seyring as a 380 kV line to the Zaya substation, which was newly constructed as part of the project. A new connection to the Lower Austrian 110 kV grid and a 220 kV connection to the Czech border were established at the Zaya substation. The Weinviertel line and the Zaya substation were successfully connected to the grid in summer 2022.
