The expansion of renewable energies is a success story: In Ahlum, between Braunschweig and Wolfenbüttel, the two millionth renewable energy plant was connected to E.ON's distribution network in Germany. The installation belongs to a wind park operated by SAB Windteam in the regional network area of E.ON's subsidiary Avacon. Around 70 percent of the capacity of all onshore wind farms and almost 50 percent of all photovoltaic installations are thus connected to E.ON's regional distribution grid - even though this accounts for only about a third of the total length of the German electricity grid.
Thomas König, Member of the Board of Management for Networks at E.ON SE, emphasizes: "Connecting two million renewable energy plants is a milestone - for E.ON and for the energy transition as a whole. The first million took more than 15 years, the second million followed within just two and a half years. That is an enormous achievement and shows the pace at which we are transforming our energy system. This success is the result of massive investment, consistent digitalization and the commitment of over 30,000 colleagues in our energy networks segment. For the second half of the energy transition and the expected connection of millions more installations, we now need new rules - for the grid connection process, for approvals for grid expansion, and for the regional expansion of new renewable energy plants."The total capacity of renewable energy generation in E.ON's German distribution grid is now around 110 gigawatts (GW), which is more than the peak load in Germany of about 80 GW. At the same time, the number of grid connections remains at a record level: on average, a connection to the E.ON grid is realized every two minutes. In the past two years alone, E.ON has invested almost 10 billion euros in the German network business - primarily for new connections and modernization of the grid infrastructure. To reflect the importance of electricity grids for the energy transition, around 6,000 additional employees were recruited for the energy network segment over the past five years.
The distribution system operators within the E.ON Group are also setting standards across Europe for efficient, digital grid connection processes. The digital self-service portal SNAPpro ("Fast Grid Connection Check"), for example, enables grid customers to obtain an initial, non-binding assessment for wind and photovoltaic installations with a feed-in capacity of up to 100 megawatts in a matter of seconds. Operators planning to connect a renewable energy plant can query their desired grid connection point and receive an assessment almost in real time.
To ensure that the pace of grid connections is maintained and the energy transition remains affordable, the rules for grid expansion must now be further developed. Local signals are needed that provide guidance for further expansion of renewables in the right places. In addition, the grid connection regime must be redesigned so that connections can be prioritized securely based on clear criteria. At the same time, approval procedures for grid expansion need to be accelerated so that grid and installation expansion can be better synchronized.