- EQOS Energie is constructing its first 525-kV overhead line over almost eight kilometres for 50Hertz
- EQOS Energie employs its own temporary structures to maintain the power supply
- Environmentally friendly construction methods to minimize impact on nature and landscape
For the first time in its corporate history, EQOS Energie is installing a 525-kV overhead line north of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt for transmission system operator 50Hertz, using state-of-the-art maximum-voltage technology in overhead line construction. Between 2025 and 2027, the Germany East profit center in charge will erect a total of 19 hybrid structures for direct and alternating current over a total length of almost eight kilometres in the overhead line section of the so-called SuedOstLink. The same number of masts from the previous 380-kV line will have to be dismantled over the course of the project.
“The SuedOstLink is one of the key grid expansion projects for the energy transition. We are therefore delighted to be able to contribute to sustainability and a secure power supply by building a section of the route that will transport the increasing amount of electricity from renewable energy sources in the north to the industrial consumption centres in the south of the country,” said Thomas Reichel, Managing Director and Head of the Overhead Line Construction business unit at EQOS Energie.
Consideration for nature and economic efficiency
For the most part, underground cables are the standard for maximum-voltage direct current transmission such as via the SuedOstLink. Overhead lines, such as those now being implemented by EQOS Energie, are used in sparsely populated areas, especially where existing routes can be used, thereby reducing or avoiding new interference with nature.
“In order to ensure an uninterrupted power supply at all times during the work, an additional 380-kV diversion must be installed over a length of approximately three kilometres for the duration of the necessary shutdowns,” Daniel Schutzan, head of the profit center, explained. So-called spinnankers are used in the construction of these temporary structures, which not only reduce time and costs but also represent a good solution for reducing negative impacts on the environment and the surrounding area.
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