Pilot project in Rhineland-Palatinate: The future electricity demand and the chicken-and-egg problem

A six-month project to coordinate the plans of many stakeholders for the electricity grid of the future in Rhineland-Palatinate has highlighted the need for improvements. According to participants, the data workshop "Electricity Grid 2024" revealed, among other things, that different planning horizons are being used. Planning can also be blocked because one party is waiting for information from another. Energy Minister Katrin Eder (Greens) spoke at the closing event in Mainz of a "chicken-and-egg dilemma". She regarded the workshop as a success.

The data workshop began this May. It was mainly about overlaying the plans of the transmission system operator Amprion with those of the distribution network operators in Rhineland-Palatinate—be they companies, municipalities, or municipal utilities—particularly in terms of the increase in electromobility as well as heat pumps and associated electricity demand. On the side of the distribution network operators were Westnetz, Pfalzwerke Netz, Energienetze Mittelrhein, EWR Netz, Mainzer Netze, and Syna.

Eder speaks of important data foundation

The outcome was an important joint data foundation, Eder concluded. This certainly has exemplary character. For the spokesman of the opposition CDU faction in the state parliament, however, the data workshop came too late. Among other things, it showed that transmission system operators like Amprion look ahead to the years 2037 and 2045, whereas companies, municipal utilities, municipalities, and distribution network operators do not plan as far ahead.

Furthermore, according to Amprion, local stakeholders in Rhineland-Palatinate mostly expect a lower increase in heat pumps or electromobility in the coming years than the grid development plan of 2023 foresees. This insight will be incorporated into the grid development plan 2025, said Amprion's Technical Director, Hendrik Neumann. "For us, that was really a great added value." Ultimately, the goal is not to have as much grid as possible but as much grid as necessary.

Different planning timeframes

The data workshop also revealed that network operators do not always catch developments in individual regions. For instance, according to Eder, some were unaware that a moratorium has been decided in the Rhine-Hunsrück district, known for its many wind turbines, for the designation of new wind turbine areas. And what about the chicken-and-egg dilemma? Companies would only switch to hydrogen or electrify their processes if the network capacities were available, said Eder. Network operators, on the other hand, need binding demand notifications as a basis for expansion—this needs to be reconciled.

For example, the specialized glass manufacturer Schott in Mainz stated, upon request, that they are working intensively to convert the CO2-intensive operation of their melting furnaces to renewable energies. Planning security is crucial for this. "Companies from energy-intensive sectors need clear direction for the fastest possible establishment of a functioning infrastructure and the availability of green electricity and green hydrogen in Germany, at globally competitive costs."