TenneT forecasts doubled project portfolio to meet Dutch grid needs

Dutch-German TSO TenneT has stated it will need to double its portfolio of works in the Netherlands to 2033 to meet grid requirements for the energy transition.

The grid operator said it anticipates working on the expansion and reinforcement of the Dutch grid at 700 locations in the Netherlands over the next decade.

This is according to TenneT’s Investment Plans 2024-2033, which outlines which projects are needed over the next ten years to make the electricity grid ready for the future.

The grid operator expects to carry out 700 major infrastructure projects, including grid extensions, replacement investments, new customer connections, offshore wind farms and reconstruction projects.

Among other things, TenneT will develop five larger new power highways (380kV) over the next 10 years and will modernise 140 high-voltage substations.

This is double the estimate in the previous investment plan for 2022.

The TSO cited fast-growing demand for additional grid capacity as the main reason for this increase, a result of industry becoming more sustainable with the growth of low carbon technology, such as heat pumps, charging stations, offshore wind turbines and solar farms, all of which require a connection to the power grid.

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Said Maarten Abbenhuis, COO TenneT: “With our society rapidly electrifying, this calls for a rigorous transformation of our entire energy system.

“Grid operators are scaling up dramatically to realise all grid adaptations. Clearly, not everything can be done at once either. Good cooperation, understanding each other’s situations and making sensible, sometimes difficult choices is necessary.”

According to TenneT, because the need for grid capacity is greater than can be realised, their portfolio has been prioritised.

To ensure grid reliability, a significant part will be invested in maintenance and replacement of existing grid connections with high-priority projects, such as MIEK (Multi-year Infrastructure Energy and /Climate Programme) projects.

The investment plan also reveals the progress of ongoing projects.

Of the 252 grid expansion projects already planned, 60 projects have been moved up in schedule compared to the investment plan of two years ago, as work on the high-voltage grid has to take place safely, which is increasingly complex to plan with a growing number of projects. In addition, design, delivery and incorporation still require a lot of lead time.

TenneT’s final investment plan will be sent to the regulator ACM in early 2024.