The new high-voltage line, an approximately seven-kilometer-long underground cable, is protected by the egeplast Power Protect cable protection pipe system, which was partially installed using horizontal directional drilling and plowing methods.
The energy transition is entering a crucial phase. The federal political goal of obtaining at least 80 percent of Germany’s gross electricity consumption from renewable energies by 2030 is becoming a fixed point for social, economic, and industrial development in Germany – including the development of the electricity grid. Climate-neutral living and business require an electricity grid that can meet the demands of the energy transition: It must collect and distribute the highly fluctuating amounts of renewable energies generated across the country. It must also meet the sharply increasing demand for electricity and deliver more than ever before. For electricity grid operators, this means that they must massively expand and modernize their grids in the coming years.
The largest regional distribution grid operator in Bavaria is Bayernwerk Netz GmbH. It supplies a total of around seven million people with energy and is extremely active in expanding the electricity grid for the energy transition. The company already distributes up to 70 percent of electrical energy from renewable sources in its energy grids.
New high-voltage cable distributes green electricity
An example of grid expansion in the high-voltage grid is the new construction of the approximately seven-kilometer-long underground cable line in the Kelheim district in Lower Bavaria, which connects the new Bachl substation to the high-voltage grid. This is a crucial component for the energy transition in the region, as much more electricity is generated here in photovoltaic systems than is consumed locally. There are many suitable areas, especially along the highway, which is why the region is a pioneer for renewable energies. The new cable can distribute the green electricity in the surrounding area.
Construction work for the power line has been ongoing since early 2023, civil engineering has been completed since August, and the pipes are ready for the pulling in of the power cables. egeplast supplied Power Protect cable protection pipe systems made of PE-RT for this high-voltage line.
Trenchless methods in sensitive areas
During the civil engineering work for this new high-voltage line, a challenge was that different construction methods were used. In some cases, the pipes were laid using the open construction method. To cross under roads and particularly sensitive areas, Bayernwerk Netz GmbH used the horizontal directional drilling method (carried out by PFAFFINGER BEERMANN PB Drill- & Energietechnik GmbH). On the largest part of the route, with a length of around four kilometers, a plow inserted the pipes into the ground.
Florian Lippl, Head of Pipeline/Network Construction at Pfaffinger Bau SE, draws a positive project conclusion: “We would like to thank Bayernwerk Netz GmbH for awarding us the contract to build the underground cable route and will continue the previous cooperation from the predecessor projects with the usual quality and reliability.”
Pfaffinger Bau SE, headquartered in Passau, is a medium-sized company in the construction and industrial sector, founded in 1855 by the master builder Paul Pfaffinger and is still family-owned to this day – in the fifth generation. The Pfaffinger Group has strongly specialized in renewable energies and alternative construction methods.
egeplast
Power Protect PE
Protective pipes for high and extra-high voltage cables with a low-friction inner layer and individual marking.
UV-resistant signal color layer
Solid wall or co-extruded, optionally with stripes
Inspection-friendly inner layer: optionally highly slidable or abrasion-resistant
Learn moreProject description
New construction of a high-voltage cable (110 kV) in the alternating current grid
Challenges
Construction of a cable protection pipe system for a 110 kV line in the
distribution network
Solution
Use of Power Protect cable protection pipe systems made of PE-RT
Installation
Open construction method, horizontal directional drilling method and plowing method
Pipe system
egeplast Power Protect cable protection pipes for underground cable construction
13,000 m d 180 x 10.7 mm SDR 17
29,500 m d 200 x 18.2 mm SDR 11
Various fittings
Project participants
Client: Bayernwerk Netz GmbH
Installation: Pfaffinger Bau SE;
PFAFFINGER BEERMANN PB Drill- & Energietechnik GmbH
