Electricity sector in Germany
{{short description|Overview of the electricity sector in Germany}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox electricity sector
| country = Germany
| image =
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| continuity = 0.2815{{nbsp}}h (16.89{{nbsp}}min) interruption per subscriber per year
| capacity = 211.31{{nbsp}}GW{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy-charts.info/index.html?l=de&c=DE|title=Energy-Charts|website=www.energy-charts.info}}
| capacityyear = 2020
| productionyear = 2021
| renewableshare = 55% (2023)
| nuclearshare
| greenhouse = 363.7{{nbsp}}Mt {{CO2}} [631.4{{nbsp}}TWh × 576{{nbsp}}g/kWh]
| greenhouseyear = 2013
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| itariff = medium: 20.60{{cite web|title=Energie-Info EE und das EEG2013|url=http://www.bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/17DF3FA36BF264EBC1257B0A003EE8B8/$file/Foliensatz_Energie-Info-EE-und-das-EEG2013_31.01.2013.pdf|year=2013|publisher=BDEW|access-date=21 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815113813/http://bdew.de/internet.nsf/id/17DF3FA36BF264EBC1257B0A003EE8B8/$file/Foliensatz_Energie-Info-EE-und-das-EEG2013_31.01.2013.pdf|archive-date=15 August 2013|url-status=dead}}
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File:Energiemix Deutschland.svg
Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TWh of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% from coal, and 12% from natural gas, this amounting to 36% from fossil fuel .{{cite book|first=Bruno|last=Burger|url=https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/en/documents/News/electricity_production_germany_2020.pdf|title=Public Net Electricity Generation in Germany 2020|publisher=Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE|location = Freiburg, Germany|access-date=3 June 2021|date=4 January 2021}} This was the first year renewables represented more than 50% of the total electricity production and a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.{{cite web |title=Electricity generation {{!}} Energy Charts |url=https://www.energy-charts.de/energy.htm?source=all-sources&period=annual&year=2020 |access-date=3 June 2020 |website=www.energy-charts.de |publisher=Fraunhofer ISE}}
In 2023, 55% of energy produced was from renewable energy sources, a 6.6 percentage-point increase from 2022.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-03 |title=Renewable energy's share on German power grids reaches 55% in 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/renewable-energys-share-german-power-grids-reaches-55-2023-2024-01-03/ |website=Reuters}} Within the 55%, 31.1% was attributed to wind, 12.1% to solar, 8.4% to biomass and the remaining 3.4% to hydropower and other renewables.
Germany has consistently produced the most carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union since the turn of the century, a large proportion of this coming from coal and lignite burning power stations, 7 of which are included in Europe's top 10 most {{CO2}} polluting list of 2021.
In 2022, Germany produced nearly 635 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This was more than the combined emissions produced by the next largest emitters in the EU – Italy and Poland. These three countries accounted for roughly 46% of total EU carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.
Germany's installed capacity for electric generation increased from 121 gigawatts (GW) in 2000 to 218 GW in 2019, an 80% increase, while electricity generation increased only 5% in the same period.{{cite news |title=Germany's Energiewende, 20 Years Later |url= https://spectrum.ieee.org/germanys-energiewende-20-years-later |quote=In 2000, Germany had an installed capacity of 121 gigawatts and it generated 577 terawatt-hours, which is 54 percent as much as it theoretically could have done (that is, 54 percent was its capacity factor). In 2019, the country produced just 5 percent more (607 TWh), but its installed capacity was 80 percent higher (218.1 GW) because it now had two generating systems.}}
Even though renewable production increased significantly between 1991 and 2017, fossil power production remained at more or less constant levels. In the same period, nuclear power production decreased due to the phase-out plan, and much of the increase in renewables filled the gap left behind by closing nuclear power plants. However 2019 and 2020 saw significant reductions in electricity generation from fossil fuel, from 252 TWh in 2018 to 181 TWh in 2020. The German government decided to phase-out nuclear power by end of 2022, however this was delayed until April 2023 due to supply disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,{{cite news| title=Germany: Nuclear phase-out postponed for three and a half months |url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2022-11-17/germany-nuclear-phase-out-postponed-three-and-a-half-months}} meaning that future growth in renewables will be needed to fill the gap again. Germany also plans to phase out coal by 2038 or earlier.
Electricity prices
German electricity prices in 2020 were 31.47 euro cents per kW⋅h for residential customers (an increase of 126% since 2000),{{Cite web|url=https://strom-report.de/electricity-price-germany/ |title=Electricity Price Germany: What households pay for power|website=Strom-Report|language=en-EN|access-date=2021-03-03}} and 17.8 euro cents per kW⋅h for non-residential customers (21.8 with taxes).{{cite web |title=Electricity price statistics, first half 2020 – Statistics Explained |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Electricity_price_statistics#Electricity_prices_for_industrial_consumers |website=ec.europa.eu |date= }}{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/thumb/5/5a/Electricity_prices_for_non-household_consumers%2C_first_half_2020_%28EUR_per_kWh%29_v4.png/500px-Electricity_prices_for_non-household_consumers%2C_first_half_2020_%28EUR_per_kWh%29_v4.png|title=EU price diagram, first half 2020}}{{cite web |title=Excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes and levies, first half 2020 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nrg_pc_205/default/table?lang=en |date= |website=ec.europa.eu}}
File:Electricity-price-germany-components.png]
German households and small businesses pay the highest electricity price in Europe for many years in a row now. More than half of the power price consists of components determined by the state (53%). These taxes, levies and surcharges have tripled since 2000 [from 5.19 to 16.49 Euro Cents]. These include levies for financing investment in renewable energy (22.1%) and for other kinds of taxes (e.g. GST 19%). Grid charges account for almost 25%, and only the remaining 22% are used to actually generate the electricity.
International electricity trade
Germany exported 70,237 GWh of electricity and imported 51,336 GWh in 2021.{{cite web |title=Electricity |publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration |url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/electricity/electricity-exports?pd=2&p=0000002000002000020007vo70400fvu2&u=1&f=A&v=mapbubble&a=-&i=none&vo=value&&t=G&g=none&l=71--55&s=1609459200000&e=1609459200000&ev=false}} Germany is the second largest exporter of electricity after France, representing about 10% of electricity exports worldwide. {{Cite web |date=1970-01-01 |title=Countries by Electricity Exports |url=https://www.atlasbig.com/en-gb/countries-electricity-exports |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=AtlasBig |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=Germany Energy Market Report {{!}} Energy Market Research in Germany |url=https://www.enerdata.net/estore/country-profiles/germany.html |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=www.enerdata.net |language=en}} Germany has grid interconnections with neighboring countries representing 10% of domestic capacity.{{Cite web |title=ENERGY UNION PACKAGE |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:a5bfdc21-bdd7-11e4-bbe1-01aa75ed71a1.0003.01/DOC_1&format=PDF |access-date=February 4, 2024 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu}}{{rp|5}}
Electricity per person and by power source
On 8 May 2016 renewables supplied 87.6% of Germany's national electricity consumption, albeit under extremely favourable weather conditions.
{{cite book | author = WWF | title = 15 signals: evidence the energy transition is underway | date = September 2016 | publisher = WWF France | location = Paris, France | url = http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/WWF_Energy_Signals.pdf | access-date = 2016-09-17| author-link = World Wide Fund for Nature }}{{rp|11}}
Mode of production
{{Current German electricity by source}}
File:Electricity generation in Germany by energy source.png
According to the IEA the gross production of electricity was 631{{nbsp}}TWh in 2008 which gave the seventh position among the world top producers in 2010. The top seven countries produced 59% of electricity in 2008. The top producers were the United States (21.5%), China (17.1%), Japan (5.3%), Russia (5.1%), India (4.1%), Canada (3.2%) and Germany (3.1%).{{Cite web |title=IEA Key Stats |url=http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2010/key_stats_2010.pdf |website=iea.org}}
In 2020, Germany generated electricity from the following sources: 27% wind, 24% coal, 12% nuclear, 12% natural gas, 10% solar, 9.3% biomass, 3.7% hydroelectricity.
= Coal =
{{See also|Fossil-fuel phase-out|List of power stations in Germany}}
In 2008, power from coal supplied 291{{nbsp}}TWh or 46% of Germany's overall production of 631{{nbsp}}TWh, but this dropped to 118{{nbsp}}TWh (24%) in 2020. In 2010 Germany was still one of the world's largest consumers of coal at 4th place behind China (2,733{{nbsp}}TWh), USA (2,133{{nbsp}}TWh) and India (569{{nbsp}}TWh). By 2019 it had fallen to 8th, behind smaller countries such as South Korea and South Africa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/265510/countries-with-the-largest-coal-consumption/|title=Coal consumption by country 2020|website=Statista}}
Germany has shut all hardcoal mines by the end of 2018, but still has large open pit mines for lignite in the Western and Eastern parts of the country.
In January 2019 the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment initiates Germany's plans to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html |title=Germany to close all 84 of its coal-fired power plants, will rely primarily on renewable energy |author-last=Kirschbaum |author-first=Erik |date=January 26, 2019 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130002321/https://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-coal-power-20190126-story.html |archive-date=2019-01-30 |url-status=live |quote=Germany, one of the world's biggest consumers of coal, will shut down all 84 of its coal-fired power plants over the next 19 years to meet its international commitments in the fight against climate change, a government commission said Saturday.}}
File:HKW Nossener Brucke, Dresden, Germany.jpg|Gas power station Nossener Brücke in Dresden
File:Scholven Powerplant.jpg|Coal-fired power plant Scholven
= Nuclear power =
{{main|Nuclear power in Germany}}
Germany has defined a firm active phase-out policy of nuclear power. Eight nuclear power plants were permanently shut down after the Fukushima accident. All nuclear power plants are to be phased out by the end of 2022.
Siemens is the only significant nuclear constructor in Germany and the nuclear share was 3% of their business in 2000.{{Cite web |title=Climate Change and Nuclear Power |url=http://assets.panda.org/downloads/fullnuclearreprotwwf.pdf |website=assets.panda.org}}
The installed nuclear power capacity in Germany was 20{{nbsp}}GW in 2008 and 21{{nbsp}}GW in 2004. The production of nuclear power was 148{{nbsp}}TWh in 2008 (sixth top by 5.4% of world total) and 167{{nbsp}}TWh in 2004 (fourth top by 6.1% of world total).{{Cite web |url=http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf |title=IEA Key energy statistics 2006 |access-date=22 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012043312/http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2006/key2006.pdf |archive-date=12 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}
In 2009, nuclear power production saw a 19% reduction compared to 2004, and its share had declined smoothly over time from 27% to 23%. The share of renewable and electricity increased as well as fossil fuels such as natural gas and lignite burning, substituting for nuclear power.
= Renewable electricity =
{{main|Renewable energy in Germany}}
File:Germany renewable electricity production.svg
File:Germany's renewable electricity generation from 2000 through 2017 (47958199548).png
File:Windmills Baltic 1.jpg in 2013]]
Germany has been called "the world's first major renewable energy economy".{{Cite web |title=News Archives |url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=Renewable Energy World |language=en-US |archive-date=12 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312175813/https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=Electricity Production From Solar and Wind in Germany 2014 |url=http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/downloads-englisch/pdf-files-englisch/data-nivc-/electricity-production-from-solar-and-wind-in-germany-2014.pdf |website=ise.fraunhofer.de}} Renewable energy in Germany is mainly based on wind, solar and biomass. Germany had the world's largest photovoltaic installed capacity until 2014, and as of 2016, it is third with 40 GW. It is also the world's third country by installed wind power capacity, at 50 GW, and second for offshore wind, with over 4 GW.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with a vast majority of her compatriots, believes, "As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs".{{cite web|url=http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/fukushima/ |title=The End of the Atomic Dream: One Year After Fukushima, the Shortfalls of Nuclear Energy Are Clearer Than Ever|author=Alexander Ochs|date=2012-03-16|work=Worldwatch}} The share of renewable electricity rose from just 3.4% of gross electricity consumption in 1990 to exceed 10% by 2005, 20% by 2011 and 30% by 2015, reaching 36.2% of consumption by year end 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Navigation/DE/Service/Erneuerbare_Energien_in_Zahlen/Zeitreihen/zeitreihen.html |title=Zeitreihen zur Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland|date=February 2018|website=Erneuerbare Energien|language=de|trans-title=Historic data about the development of renewable energies in Germany|access-date=9 August 2018}} As with most countries, the transition to renewable energy in the transport and heating and cooling sectors has been considerably slower.
More than 23,000 wind turbines and 1.4 million solar PV systems are distributed all over the country.http://www.wind-energie.de, [http://www.wind-energie.de/en/infocenter/statistiken/deutschland/number-wind-turbines-germany Number of Wind Turbines in Germany] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160329000414/http://www.wind-energie.de/en/infocenter/statistiken/deutschland/number-wind-turbines-germany |date=29 March 2016 }}, 2012{{Cite web |title=Recent Facts About Photovoltaics in Germany |url=http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/publications/veroeffentlichungen-pdf-dateien-en/studien-und-konzeptpapiere/recent-facts-about-photovoltaics-in-germany.pdf |website=ise.fraunhofer.de}}{{when|date=November 2017}} According to official figures, around 370,000 people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2010, particularly in small and medium-sized companies.{{cite journal|last=Gerhardt|first=Christina |title=Germany's Renewable Energy Shift: Addressing Climate Change|journal=Capitalism, Nature, Socialism |volume=28|issue=2|pages=103–119|date=June 9, 2016|doi=10.1080/10455752.2016.1229803|s2cid=157399085}} This is an increase of around 8% compared to 2009 (around 339,500 jobs), and well over twice the number of jobs in 2004 (160,500). About two-thirds of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act.{{Cite web |title=Renewable Energy Sources in Figures – National and International Development |url=http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/english/pdf/application/pdf/broschuere_ee_zahlen_en_bf.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302094445/http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/english/pdf/application/pdf/broschuere_ee_zahlen_en_bf.pdf |archivedate=2 March 2012}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5430 |title=Germany Leads Way on Renewables, Sets 45% Target by 2030 |access-date=9 December 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235004/http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5430}}
Germany's federal government is working to increase renewable energy commercialization,{{cite web|url=http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/inhalt/46959/3860/ |title=100% renewable electricity supply by 2050|publisher=Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety|date=26 January 2011|access-date=4 June 2011|url-status=dead |archive-date=9 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509143651/http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/inhalt/46959/3860/}} with a particular focus on offshore wind farms.{{cite web |first=Stefan |last=Schultz |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,752791,00.html |title=Will Nuke Phase-Out Make Offshore Farms Attractive?|date=23 March 2011|work=Spiegel Online |access-date=26 March 2011}} A major challenge is the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern parts of the country.The Wall Street Journal Online, 24 April 2012 Germany's energy transition, the Energiewende, designates a significant change in energy policy from 2011. The term encompasses a reorientation of policy from demand to supply and a shift from centralized to distributed generation (for example, producing heat and power in very small cogeneration units), which should replace overproduction and avoidable energy consumption with energy-saving measures and increased efficiency. At the end of 2020, Germany had 2.3 GWh of home battery storage, often in conjunction with solar panels.{{cite web |last1=Vorrath |first1=Sophie |title=Germany installed 100,000 home batteries in "year of Corona" |url=https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/germany-installed-100000-home-batteries-in-year-of-corona/ |website=One Step Off The Grid |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210325052309/https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/germany-installed-100000-home-batteries-in-year-of-corona/ |archive-date=25 March 2021 |date=24 March 2021 |url-status=live}}
Transmission network
File:German high-voltage overhead power line grid.svg
Grid owners included, in 2008, RWE, EnBW, Vattenfall and E.ON. According to the European Commission the electricity producers should not own the electricity grid to ensure open competition. The European Commission accused E.ON of the misuse of markets in February 2008. Consequently, E.ON sold its share of the network.Lehmänkaupat hämmentävät EU:n energianeuvotteluja, Helsingin Sanomat 1.3.2008 B11 As of July 2016 the four German TSOs are:
- 50Hertz Transmission GmbH (owned by Elia, formerly owned by Vattenfall)
- Amprion GmbH (RWE)
- Tennet TSO GmbH (owned by TenneT, formerly owned by E.ON)
- TransnetBW (renamed from EnBW Transportnetze AG and a 100% subsidiary of EnBW)
In Germany, there also exists a single-phase AC grid operated at 16.7{{nbsp}}Hz to supply power to rail transport, see list of installations for 15 kV AC railway electrification in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
= Special features of German transmission network =
{{overly detailed|section|date=August 2023}}
There are some special features in the transmission network of Germany. Also they have no direct influence on operation, they are remarkable under technical viewpoints.
== Garland-type communication cables ==
Many powerlines in Baden-Württemberg, which were built by Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS, now part of EnBW) are equipped with a communication cable, which hangs like a garland on the ground conductor. Some of these lines have also a second communication cable hanging on an auxiliary wire, which is usually fixed on the pinnacle of the pylon below the ground conductor. Such devices are usually installed on lines with voltages of 110 kV and more, but there existed also a 20 kV-line near Eberdingen, which had a communication cable fixed like a garland on a conductor rope. Although communication cables fixed like a garland where replaced in the last decades by free-hanging communication cables many of these devices are still in use. If a downlink of the communication cable from the suspension level to the ground is necessary, which is for example the case at amplifier stations, lines built by former Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS) use therefore a cable in the centre of the tower strung by a pond instead of a cable fixed at the tower structure. This construction type can be found as well on lines using garland-type communication cables as on lines using freely span communication cables.
File:110kV_Leitung_Sindelfingen_Leonberg_31072011_1.JPG|A 110 kV-line with a communication cable hanging like a garland on the ground conductor
File:380kV_Leitung_Pulverdingen_Oberjettingen_04062011_1.JPG|380 kV/110 kV-line Pulverdingen-Oberjettingen with two communication cables hanging like garlands on ropes above the power conductors
File:Leitung_Herrenberg_17072013_2.JPG|A 110 kV-line with two communication cables fixed like garlands on grounded ropes on a half of the lowest crossbar
File:Leitung_Eberdingen_Riet_15112011.JPG|20 kV-line near Eberdingen with communication cable hanging like a garland on the lowest conductor
File:Luftkabelniederfuehrung_380_kV_Leitung_Philippsburg_Pulverdingen_bei_Serres.jpg|Communication cable running down in the centre of the pylon
== Powerline crossings of Elbe river near Stade ==
Image:Luftaufnahmen Nordseekueste 2012-05-by-RaBoe-601.jpg
There are two powerline crossings of the Elbe river near Stade, whose pylons are among the tallest structures in Europe.
Elbe Crossing 1 is a group of masts providing an overhead crossing of a 220 kV three-phase alternating current electric powerline across the River Elbe."Die 380/220-kV-Elbekreuzung im 220-kV-Netz der Nordwestdeutschen Kraftwerke AG" by Hans Heino Moeller of the NWK, Hamburg Constructed between 1959 and 1962 as part of the line from Stade to Hamburg north, it consists of four masts. Each of the two portal masts is a guyed mast {{convert|50|m}} in height with a crossbeam at a height of {{convert|33|m}}. One of these masts stands on the Schleswig-Holstein bank of the Elbe and the other on the Lower Saxony bank. Two identical carrying masts {{convert|189|m}} in height, each weighing {{convert|330|t}}, ensure the necessary passage height of {{convert|75|m}} over the Elbe. One stands on the island of Lühesand, the other in the Buhnenfeld on the Schleswig-Holstein side.
Because of the swampy terrain, each mast's foundation is built on pilings driven into the ground. The Lühesand portal mast rests on 41 pilings and the one on the Buhnenfeld on 57. In contrast to the usual construction of such lattice-steel transmission towers, the direction of the line passes diagonally over the square ground cross section of the pylon, resulting in savings in material. The two crossbeams for the admission of the six conductor cables are at a height of {{convert|166|m}} and {{convert|179|m}}. The mast on the Buhnenfeld bears at a height of {{convert|30|m}} a radar facility belonging to the Water and Navigation Office of the Port of Hamburg. Each portal mast has stairs and gangways for maintenance of flight safety beacons, and has a hoist for heavy loads.
Elbe Crossing 2 is a group of transmission towers providing overhead lines for four 380 kV three-phase alternating current (AC) circuits across the German river Elbe."Die Maste der neuen 380-kV-Hochspannungsfreileitung über die Elbe" NWK special edition of "Der Stahlbau", 48th year, issues 11 and 12, pp. 321 to 326, pp. 360 to 366, authors: Friedrich Kießling, Hans Dieter Sperl and Friedrich Wagemann"Die neue 380-kV-Elbekreuzung der Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke AG" NWK special edition of "Elektrizitätswirtschaft", 77th year, issue 10 (May 8, 1978) pp. 341 to 352 It was constructed between 1976 and 1978 to supplement Elbe Crossing 1, and consists of four towers:
- A 76-metre-tall anchor pylon located in Lower Saxony, on the Elbe's southern banks.
- Two carrying pylons, each {{convert|227|m}} tall. One is located on the island of Lühesand and the other is near Hetlingen in Schleswig-Holstein, on the northern shore.
:These pylons are the tallest pylons in Europe and the sixth tallest of the world. They stand on 95 piers because of the unfavorable building ground. The base of each pylon measures {{convert|45|x|45|m}} and each pylon weighs {{convert|980|t}}. Crossbeams, which hold up the power cables, are located at heights of {{convert|172|m|abbr=values}}, {{convert|190|m|abbr=values}} and {{convert|208|m}}. The crossbeams span {{convert|56|m|disp=or}} (lowest crossbeam), {{convert|72|m|disp=or}} (middle crossbeam) and {{convert|57|m|disp=or}} (highest crossbeam). Each pylon has a self-propelled climbing elevator for maintenance of the aircraft warning lights; each elevator runs inside a steel tube in the centre of the mast, around which there is a spiral staircase.
- A {{convert|62|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} anchor pylon on the Schleswig-Holstein side.
The enormous height of the two carrying pylons ensures that the passage height requirement of {{convert|75|m}} over the Elbe demanded by German authorities is met. The height requirement ensures that large ships are able to enter Hamburg's deep-water port.
== Electricity pylons ==
File:Freileitung Hattingen-Herdecke2.png
Unlike in most other countries, there are only few three-level or delta pylons. Instead, two-level lattice pylons called :de:Donaumast are widely used. These carry two cables on the upper and four cables on the lower crossarm. Particularly in eastern Germany one-level pylons were used too. Power lines with less than 100 kV mostly run underground today. Unlike in the USA and many other countries, roadside medium-voltage overhead lines do not exist.[https://www.hoogspanningsforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=36124 The electricity pylon designs of the world - an overview - HoogspanningsNet Forum]
== Other features ==
File:Schornstein_Scholven_Hochspannungsleitung.jpg
A 302 metres tall cooling tower of Scholven Power Station at Gelsenkirchen, which is used by four units of these thermal power station is equipped with three booms carrying the conductors of a 220 kV-circuit leaving one of these units.
File:Aussichtsturm Bleibtreusee I.JPG
From 1977 to 2010 a 74.84 metres high strainer of powerline Oberzier-Niedersechtem was equipped with a public observation deck in a height of 27 metres, which was accessible by a staircase. After too much vandalism occurred, which endangered also the integrity of the pylon, this observation deck was removed.
As in many other countries, power companies in Germany use radio relay links for data transmissions. In most cases the antennas used therefore are installed on lattice towers, but at some sites concrete towers are used for this purpose.
The 87 metres tall radio relay tower on Goose Neck mountain (German: Gänsehals) near Bell is the only of these towers equipped with a public observation deck. It is situated in a height of 24 metres and accessible by a staircase.
Summary table
*Consumption = Generation - Exports + Imports - Distribution losses
See also
{{Portal|Germany|Energy}}
{{Commons category|Electric power in Germany}}
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References
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External links
- {{cite web
| last1 = Evans |first1 = Simon
| last2 = Pearce | first2 = Rosamund
| date = 20 September 2016
| title = Mapped: how Germany generates its electricity
| website = Carbon Brief
| location = London, United Kingdom
| url = https://www.carbonbrief.org/how-germany-generates-its-electricity
| access-date = 2016-10-06
}}
- [https://electrek.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/composition-average-german-household-power-price-2006-2017.png?w=649&h=458 Household electricity prices, 2006–2017] (CC image)
{{Europe topic|Electricity sector in}}