South-East Power Line
Against the backdrop of the energy transition, the plan is to transmit wind energy from northern Germany to Bavaria via new power lines in order to compensate for the decommissioning of nuclear power stations there. The power lines are to run above ground on pylons up to 75 metres high, with the total length of the new construction projects amounting to up to 4,300 kilometres.
Opposition to the plans is mounting along the routes, particularly along the so-called ‘South-East Power Line’ (now mostly referred to as ‘Corridor D’) from Lusatia via Upper Franconia to southern Bavaria, but is also becoming increasingly professionally organised along the ‘Südlink’ route from Schleswig-Holstein via Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse to Bavaria. Not only citizens’ initiatives but also local politicians are criticising the project, citing, amongst other things, environmental damage caused by the corridors up to 70 metres wide, health risks for local residents, a fall in property values, and damage to the landscape with consequences for the tourism industry.
As an alternative, there are calls in particular for a decentralised energy supply, which could be ensured, for example, by expanding gas-fired power stations and investing in renewable energy generation. Ultimately, the federal government decides that underground cabling should take precedence over new overhead power lines. As a result, the project has been significantly delayed and its costs have risen considerably.
The structure of the protest is unusual in this respect, in that the line of conflict does not run between ‘the citizens’ and ‘the political establishment’; on the contrary, the protest events on the ground are, in some cases, decisively shaped by local politicians. From the perspective of democratic theory, the case can be interpreted as an instance where the mutual checks and balances inherent in federalism are coming into play within the system. Furthermore, the majority of the protesters are not so much ‘NIMBYs’ as supporters of the transition to renewable energy who, regardless of location, are voicing fundamental criticism of the implementation of the energy transition.
Download
Teaching and learning materials: South-East Power Line
