Inserts:

00:03 Report / Karl Harenbrock
00:35 Hildegard Beyfuss | Citizens´ Initiative against SuedLink
01:19 Kevin Zdiara | TransnetBW
02:05 Kevin Zdiara | TransnetBW

Script:
+++SYN+++

This is where Germany’s power supply should be secured.. to stabilize the grid and to prevent blackouts. The transmission line known as SuedLink is being laid entirely underground - a comparatively expensive approach.

Yet, there is resistance to the project. Citizens' groups have been fighting its construction for years. One of them is Hildegard Beyfuss. The retiree regularly inspects the construction site. For her, one thing is clear: the ((niocht gesprochen: estimated))  ten billion Euros for the SuedLink project is a waste of money.

+++0:33 SOT Hildegard Beyfuss, Citizens' Initiative against SuedLink+++
"We can't afford this project. It also takes massive amounts of land, and it destroys our nature and the environment."

+++GRAFIK REIN+++
The SuedLink line crosses Germany for 700 kilometers.

Behind the connection is the fact that Germany generates wind power primarily in the North, yet the biggest consumer is industry in the South. The South generates significant solar energy, meanwhile, which is sometimes needed in the North.

The problem as of yet: Germany’s power grid is outdated. Currently, during peak periods, green electricity cannot be transported to where it's most needed. Often times wind turbines have to be shut down—at great cost.

+++1:17 SOT Kevin Zdiara, TransnetBW+++
"Grid interventions currently cost us 2 to 3 billion Euros every year. That includes shutting off wind turbines, purchasing additional power, and take other measures because Germany's energy grid simply isn't designed for this kind of energy transport."

Construction for SuedLink is currently taking place on many individual sections along the route - like on this 40-kilometer stretch in Thuringia.

Workers are building construction roads along the route to give heavy machinery access. Once the project is complete, these roads will be fully dismantled.

Not every landowner is cooperative, however; some are refusing access to their properties.

+++2.02 SOT Kevin Zdiara, TransnetBW+++
"Landowners can't stop the project this way. There are legal avenues for us to gain the necessary right-of-way. Ultimately, of course, it is a form of expropriation."

Construction work in forests and near nature reserves is considered particularly sensitive. Heavy machinery can damage the forest floor. Planners have to take flora and fauna into account.

+++2.25 SOT Kevin Zdiara, TransnetBW+++
"That green barrier is an amphibian fence. It’s designed to prevent frogs and other creatures from wandering into the construction zone, where they could be killed.

Depending on the terrain, workers lay between 25 and 50 meters of cable per day. They pull direct-current cables, each with a capacity of 2 gigawatts, into pre-installed conduits. Fiber-optic cables are laid at the same time.

Drilling methods offer a faster alternative, allowing the line to pass beneath rivers, roads, and difficult terrain.

However, this process requires water to cool and stabilize the borehole. Small amounts of bentonite-containing drilling fluid frequently escape into the environment - another point of criticism raised by environmentalists.

Such incidents regularly spark protests from citizens' action groups. In Bavaria, they've taken the matter to court. 

+++3.27 SOT Hildegard Beyfuss, Citizens' Initiative against SuedLink+++
"The goal is to halt construction and force a revision of the entire concept."

Project developers say that the project can no longer be stopped. Electricity is scheduled to flow in two years - by then, there should be no trace of the construction site left to see.