Smart Grids in Germany: How much costs do distribution grids cause at planning time?

Energy supply in Germany is facing a fundamental transition. Energy generation, to date characterised by nuclear and fossil energy sources, is to switch over to renewables within just a few decades. Massive technical, economic and social challenges must be overcome in the process. Germany is playing a pioneering role in the expansion and integration of renewables in electric networks. Installations using renewable energies, with an installed capacity of approximately 61 GW, have so far been connected to the German national grid. The special role assumed by Germany becomes apparent when it is compared with other European member states such as France (12.9 GW), Italy (21.3 GW) and Great Britain (9.3 GW). The integration of renewable energy installations is set to increase further still in the future. Pursuant to the goals set by the German Federal Government, this figure as a percentage of German gross power generation is to rise from the current figure of around 23% to above 50% by 2032 and to 80% by 2050 [1]. Against the backdrop of the special role of distribution networks for the successful realisation of the energy transition, the expansion requirement in these networks is qualified. Building upon this, the savings potential by using intelligent network technologies and the application of innovative planning and operational strategies are also investigated and appraised.