![Energiemix Deutschland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Energiemix_Deutschland.svg)
Germany's
electrical grid
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
is part of the
Synchronous grid of Continental Europe
The synchronous grid of Continental Europe (also known as Continental Synchronous Area; formerly known as the UCTE grid) is the largest synchronous electrical grid (by connected power) in the world. It is interconnected as a single phase-locked ...
. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TW⋅h of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% from coal, and 12% from natural gas.
This is the first year renewables represented more than 50% of the total electricity production and a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.
Germany's installed capacity for electric generation increased from 121
gigawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...
s (GW) in 2000 to 218 GW in 2019, an 80% increase, while electricity generation increased only 5% in the same period.
Even though renewables production increased significantly between 1991 and 2017, fossil power production remained at more or less constant levels. In the same period, nuclear power production decreased due to the phase-out plan, and much of the increase in renewables filled the gap left behind by closing nuclear power plants. However 2019 and 2020 saw significant reductions in electricity generation from fossil fuel, from 252 TW⋅h in 2018 to 181 TW⋅h in 2020. The German government decided to
phase-out nuclear power by end of 2022, however this has been delayed until April 2023 due to supply disruption caused by the war in Ukraine, meaning that future growth in renewables will be needed to fill the gap again. Germany also plans to phase out coal by 2038 or earlier.
[
]
Electricity prices
German electricity prices in 2020 were 31.47 euro cents per kW⋅h for residential customers (an increase of 126% since 2000), and 17.8 euro cents per kW⋅h for non-residential customers (21.8 with taxes).
]
German households and small businesses pay the highest electricity price in Europe for many years in a row now.
More than half of the power price consists of components determined by the state (53%).
These Taxes, levies and surcharges have tripled since 2000 rom 5.19 to 16.49 Euro Cents These include levies for financing investment in renewable energy (22.1%) and for other kinds of taxes (e.g. GST 19%). Grid charges account for almost 25%, and only the remaining 22% are used to actually generate the electricity.
Electricity trade in Germany
With 73,041.74 GWh of exported electricity, Germany is the second largest exporter of electricity after France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, representing about 10% of electricity exports worldwide. Germany has grid interconnections with neighboring countries representing 10% of domestic capacity.
Electricity per person and by power source
Germany produced power per person in 2008 equal to the EU-15 average (EU-15: 7,409 kW⋅h/person) and 77% of the OECD average (8,991 kW⋅h/person).[German numbers extracted from ''Energy in Sweden, Facts and figures, The Swedish Energy Agency'', (in Swedish: Energiläget i siffror), Table: Specific electricity production per inhabitant with breakdown by power source (kW⋅h/person), ''Source'': IEA/OEC]
2006 T23
2007 T25
2008 T26
2009 T25
an
2010 T49
.
On 8 May 2016 renewables supplied 87.6% of Germany's national electricity consumption, albeit under extremely favourable weather conditions.[
]
Mode of production
According to the IEA the gross production of electricity was 631TW⋅h in 2008 which gave the seventh position among the world top producers in 2010. The top seven countries produced 59% of electricity in 2008. The top producers were the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(21.5%), China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(17.1%), Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(5.3%), Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
(5.1%), India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(4.1%), Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(3.2%) and Germany (3.1%).[IEA Key stats 2010]
pages electricity 27 gas 13,25 fossil 25 nuclear 17
In 2020, Germany generated electricity from the following sources: 27% wind, 24% coal, 12% nuclear, 12% natural gas, 10% solar, 9.3% biomass, 3.7% hydroelectricity.
Coal
In 2008, power from coal supplied 291TW⋅h or 46% of Germany's overall production of 631TW⋅h, but this dropped to 118TW⋅h (24%) in 2020. In 2010 Germany was still one of the world's largest consumers of coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
at 4th place behind China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(2,733TW⋅h), USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
(2,133TW⋅h) and India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(569TW⋅h).[ By 2019 it had fallen to 8th, behind smaller countries such as ]South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Germany has shut all hardcoal mines by the end of 2018, but still has large open pit mines for lignite in the Western and Eastern parts of the country.
In January 2019 the German Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment
Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment (German: (WSB), originally , commonly just called ''Kohlekommission'', that is ''coal commission'', in Germany) is a commission created by the German federal government on 6June 2018, after t ...
initiates Germany's plans to entirely phase out and shut down the 84 remaining coal-fired plants on its territory by 2038.
File:HKW Nossener Brucke, Dresden, Germany.jpg, Gas power station
A gas-fired power plant or gas-fired power station or natural gas power plant is a thermal power station which burns natural gas to generate electricity. Natural gas power stations generate almost a quarter of world electricity and a signifi ...
''Nossener Brücke'' in Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
File:Scholven Powerplant.jpg, Coal-fired power plant
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a th ...
'' Scholven''
Nuclear power
Germany has defined a firm active phase-out policy of nuclear power. Eight nuclear power plants were permanently shut down after the Fukushima accident. All nuclear power plants are to be phased out by the end of 2022. According to BMU this is an opportunity for future generations.
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
is the only significant nuclear constructor in Germany and the nuclear share was 3% of their business in 2000. In 2006 large international bribe
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...
s by Siemens in the energy and telecommunication business were revealed. The case was investigated, for example, in Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
The installed nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
capacity in Germany was 20GW in 2008 and 21GW in 2004. The production of nuclear power was 148TW⋅h in 2008 (sixth top by 5.4% of world total) and 167TW⋅h in 2004 (fourth top by 6.1% of world total).
In 2009, nuclear power production saw a 19% reduction compared to 2004, and its share had declined smoothly over time from 27% to 23%. The share of renewable electricity increased, substituting for nuclear power.[
]
Renewable electricity
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
has been called "the world's first major renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
economy".
Renewable energy in Germany is mainly based on wind, solar and biomass.
Germany had the world's largest photovoltaic installed capacity until 2014, and as of 2016, it is third with 40 GW.
It is also the world's third country by installed wind power capacity, at 50 GW, and second for offshore wind, with over 4 GW.
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
, along with a vast majority of her compatriots, believes, "As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs".
The share of renewable electricity rose from just 3.4% of gross electricity consumption in 1990 to exceed 10% by 2005, 20% by 2011 and 30% by 2015, reaching 36.2% of consumption by year end 2017.
As with most countries, the transition to renewable energy in the transport and heating and cooling sectors has been considerably slower.
More than 23,000 wind turbines
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
and 1.4 million solar PV systems
A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and co ...
are distributed all over the country.
According to official figures, around 370,000 people were employed in the renewable energy sector in 2010, particularly in small and medium-sized companies. This is an increase of around 8% compared to 2009 (around 339,500 jobs), and well over twice the number of jobs in 2004 (160,500). About two-thirds of these jobs are attributed to the Renewable Energy Sources Act.
Germany's federal government is working to increase renewable energy commercialization
Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include b ...
, with a particular focus on offshore wind farm
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
s.
A major challenge is the development of sufficient network capacities for transmitting the power generated in the North Sea to the large industrial consumers in southern parts of the country.['']The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' Online, 24 April 2012
Germany's energy transition, the ''Energiewende'', designates a significant change in energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...
from 2011.
The term encompasses a reorientation of policy from demand to supply and a shift from centralized to distributed generation (for example, producing heat and power in very small cogeneration units), which should replace overproduction
In economics, overproduction, oversupply, excess of supply or glut refers to excess of supply over demand of products being offered to the market. This leads to lower prices and/or unsold goods along with the possibility of unemployment.
The de ...
and avoidable energy consumption with energy-saving measures and increased efficiency. At the end of 2020, Germany had 2.3 GW⋅h of home battery storage, often in conjunction with solar panels.
Transmission network
Grid owners included, in 2008, RWE
RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offsh ...
, EnBW
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or simply EnBW, is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. As its name indicates, EnBW is based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History Foundation and development
EnB ...
, Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish State. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The company's name is Swedish for "waterfall", and ...
and E.ON. According to the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
the electricity producers should not own the electricity grid to ensure open competition. The European Commission accused E.ON of the misuse of markets in February 2008. Consequently, E.ON sold its share of the network. As of July 2016 the four German TSOs are:
* 50Hertz Transmission GmbH (owned by Elia, formerly owned by Vattenfall)
* Amprion GmbH (RWE)
* Tennet TSO GmbH (owned by TenneT
TenneT is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany.
''TenneT B.V.'' is the national electricity transmission system operator of the Netherlands, headquartered in Arnhem. Controlled and owned by the Dutch g ...
, formerly owned by E.ON)
* TransnetBW
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or simply EnBW, is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. As its name indicates, EnBW is based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History Foundation and development
EnB ...
(renamed from EnBW Transportnetze AG and a 100% subsidiary of EnBW
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, or simply EnBW, is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. As its name indicates, EnBW is based in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
History Foundation and development
EnB ...
)
In Germany, there also exists a single-phase AC grid operated at 16.7Hz to supply power to rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
, see .
Special features of German Transmission Network
There are some special features in the transmission network of Germany. Also they have no direct influence on operation, they are remarkable under technical viewpoints.
Garland-type communication cables
Many powerlines in Baden-Württemberg, which were built by Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS, now part of EnBW) are equipped with a communication cable, which hangs like a garland on the ground conductor. Some of these lines have also a second communication cable hanging on an auxiliary wire, which is usually fixed on the pinnacle of the pylon below the ground conductor.
Such devices are usually installed on lines with voltages of 110 kV and more, but there existed also a 20 kV-line near Eberdingen, which had a communication cable fixed like a garland on a conductor rope.
Although communication cables fixed like a garland where replaced in the last decades by free-hanging communication cables many of these devices are still in use.
If a downlink of the communication cable from the suspension level to the ground is necessary, which is for example the case at amplifier stations, lines built by former Energie-Versorgung-Schwaben (EVS) use therefore a cable in the centre of the tower strung by a pond instead of a cable fixed at the tower structure. This construction type can be found as well on lines using garland-type communication cables as on lines using freely span communication cables.
File:110kV_Leitung_Sindelfingen_Leonberg_31072011_1.JPG, A 110 kV-line with a communication cable hanging like a garland on the ground conductor
File:380kV_Leitung_Pulverdingen_Oberjettingen_04062011_1.JPG, 380 kV/110 kV-line Pulverdingen-Oberjettingen with two communication cables hanging like garlands on ropes above the power conductors
File:Leitung_Herrenberg_17072013_2.JPG, A 110 kV-line with two communication cables fixed like garlands on grounded ropes on a half of the lowest crossbar
File:Leitung_Eberdingen_Riet_15112011.JPG, 20 kV-line near Eberdingen with communication cable hanging like a garland on the lowest conductor
File:Luftkabelniederfuehrung_380_kV_Leitung_Philippsburg_Pulverdingen_bei_Serres.jpg, Communication cable running down in the centre of the pylon
Powerline crossings of Elbe river near Stade
Two powerline crossings of Elbe river near Stade, whose pylons belong to the tallest in Europe.
Elbe Crossing 1
Elbe Crossing 1 is a group of masts providing an overhead crossing of a 220 kV three-phase alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
electric powerline across the River Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
. Constructed between 1959 and 1962 as part of the line from Stade
Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the district () which bears its name. It is l ...
to Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, postal ...
north, it consists of four masts. Each of the two portal masts is a guyed mast in height with a crossbeam at a height of . One of these masts stands on the Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
bank of the Elbe and the other on the Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
bank. Two identical carrying masts in height, each weighing , ensure the necessary passage height of over the Elbe. One stands on the island of Lühesand, the other in the Buhnenfeld on the Schleswig-Holstein side.
Because of the swampy terrain, each mast's foundation is built on pilings driven into the ground. The Lühesand portal mast rests on 41 pilings and the one on the Buhnenfeld on 57. In contrast to the usual construction of such lattice-steel transmission tower
A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line.
In electrical gri ...
s, the direction of the line passes diagonally over the square ground cross section of the pylon, resulting in savings in material. The two crossbeams for the admission of the six conductor cables are at a height of and . The mast on the Buhnenfeld bears at a height of a radar facility belonging to the Water and Navigation Office of the Port of Hamburg
The Port of Hamburg (german: Hamburger Hafen, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea.
Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (''Tor zur Welt''), it is the country's largest seaport by volume ...
. Each portal mast has stairs and gangways for maintenance of flight safety beacons, and has a hoist for heavy loads.
Elbe Crossing 2
Elbe Crossing 2 is a group of transmission tower
A transmission tower, also known as an electricity pylon or simply a pylon in British English and as a hydro tower in Canadian English, is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line.
In electrical gri ...
s providing overhead lines for four 380 kV three-phase
Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system empl ...
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(AC) circuits across the German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
river Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
.["Die neue 380-kV-Elbekreuzung der Nordwestdeutsche Kraftwerke AG" NWK special edition of "Elektrizitätswirtschaft", 77th year, issue 10 (May 8, 1978) pp. 341 to 352] It was constructed between 1976 and 1978 to supplement Elbe Crossing 1
Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TW⋅h of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% fro ...
, and consists of four towers:
* A 76-metre-tall anchor pylon located in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, on the Elbe's southern banks.
* Two carrying pylons, each tall. One is located on the island of Lühesand and the other is near Hetlingen in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
, on the northern shore.
:These pylons are the tallest pylons in Europe and the sixth tallest of the world. They stand on 95 piers because of the unfavorable building ground. The base of each pylon measures and each pylon weighs . Crossbeams, which hold up the power cables, are located at heights of , and . The crossbeams span
Span may refer to:
Science, technology and engineering
* Span (unit), the width of a human hand
* Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports
* Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft
* Sorbitan ester ...
(lowest crossbeam), (middle crossbeam) and (highest crossbeam). Each pylon has a self-propelled climbing elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
for maintenance of the aircraft warning lights
Aviation obstruction lighting is used to enhance the visibility of structures or fixed obstacles which may conflict with the safe navigation of aircraft. Obstruction lighting is commonly installed on towers, buildings, and even fences located i ...
; each elevator runs inside a steel tube in the centre of the mast, around which there is a spiral staircase.
* A anchor pylon on the Schleswig-Holstein side.
The enormous height of the two carrying pylons ensures that the passage height requirement of over the Elbe demanded by German authorities is met. The height requirement ensures that large ships are able to enter Hamburg
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's deep-water port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
.
Power station chimney used as electricity pylon
A 302 metres tall chimney of Scholven Power Station at Gelsenkirchen, which is used by four units of these thermal power station is equipped with three booms carrying the conductors of a 220 kV-circuit leaving one of these units.
Pylon with public observation deck near Hürth
From 1977 to 2010 a 74.84 metres high strainer of powerline Oberzier-Niedersechtem was equipped with a public observation deck in a height of 27 metres, which was accessible by a staircase. After too much vandalism occurred, which endangered also the integrity of the pylon, this observation deck was removed.
Goose Neck Tower – radio relay tower with public observation deck
As in many other countries, power companies in Germany use radio relay links for data transmissions. In most cases the antennas used therefore are installed on lattice towers, but at some sites concrete towers are used for this purpose.
The 87 metres tall radio relay tower on Goose Neck mountain (German: Gänsehals) near Bell is the only of these towers equipped with a public observation deck. It is situated in a height of 24 metres and accessible by a staircase.
See also
* Energiewende in Germany
* Energy in Germany
Germany predominantly sources its energy from fossil fuels, followed by wind, nuclear power, solar, biomass (wood and biofuels) and hydro.
The German economy is large and developed, ranking fourth in the world by nominal GDP. Germany is s ...
References
External links
*
Household electricity prices, 2006–2017
(CC image)
{{Europe topic, Electricity sector in