TenneT Getting Grid Ready For 2 GW Solar & Wind Power

• TenneT will invest €215 million on improving transmission infrastructure for 2 GW of solar and wind power capacity
• It will create two new high voltage substations in Groningen and Drenthe provinces and also add extra capacity in other regions
• TenneT claims there are over €1 billion worth of projects already in northern Netherlands beyond the €215 million it plans to invest
• The operator will seek exemption from the regulator to use reserve capacity on the grid which will clear the way for 500 MW of capacity

TenneT, a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and Germany, will invest an additional €215 million ($237 million) on improving transmission infrastructure to ensure enough connection capacity for 2 GW of solar and wind farms in the northern part of the Dutch nation. TenneT explains 1 GW capacity would be equal to 3.5 million solar panels or around 200 wind turbines.

As per the plan, by the year 2025, two new 380 kV/110 kV high voltage substations will come up in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe. It will also look at adding extra capacity to the existing 110 kV high voltage substations in Bargemeer, Coevorden, Emmen Weerdinge, Hardenberg, Klazienaveen, Musselkannal Zandberg, Ommen Dante, Stadskanaal and Veenoord.

All these efforts will be made to 'honour as many  transmission requests as possible for solar parks and wind farms, said TenneT COO Ben Voorhorst and shared that there are more than €1 billion ($1.10 billion) worth of projects in the north of the country and that the planned €215 million will be on top of that.

It will also seek exemption to use a reserve in the 110 kV grid which, if permitted by the regulator, will allow 500 MW of additional connection and transmission capacity to be immediately available. Another way TenneT foresees creating more capacity on the grid is through curtailment which will happen only when clean power supply exceeds demand.

Tennet's investments reflects the solar boom in the Netherlands, which is one of Europe's leading solar markets. In 2018, the country installed 1.33 GW it said in January 2019 (see Netherlands Installed 1.33 GW Solar In 2018).