New Hub for Renewables for € 200 Millions: Groundbreaking Ceremony at the APG substation in Sarasdorf

The Austrian Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and the president of Lower Austria’s provincial government Karl Wilfing participated in the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony together with the hosts Gerhard Christiner, CTO at APG, and Franz Mittermayer, chairman of the board at EVN.

Renewables: from Sarasdorf all over Austria

The Sarasdorf substation is located in the middle of one of Austria’s most windy regions, where the number of PV facilities is also continually increasing. In the district Bruck alone more than 2,700 PV systems feed their solar power production into the grid. The fact that in 2023 almost three times as many PV systems were completed than in the previous year highlights the trend towards a decentralized electricity production.

The substation is directly linked to the lines of Netz Niederösterreich via a 110 kV switchgear. With the installation of eleven additional 380 kV switchboard sections as well as two 380/110 kV giant transformers the importance of the APG site in the vicinity of Bruck an der Leitha with regard to the energy transition in Austria is further increased. APG is investing around 130 million euros, Netz Niederösterreich around 70 million euros.

“Modern, innovative and stable power grids are the backbone of the energy transition. They make sure that we can use the green electricity wherever we need it. However, this requires expansion measures and investments – as we can see here at Sarasdorf. With the new APG substation one of the largest and most modern hubs of the transmission grid of the future will come into being. The energy transition can succeed with such projects – this can be felt clearly at this site”, said the delighted climate protection minister Leonore Gewessler.

Karl Wilfing, president of the provincial government of Lower Austria, underlines the importance of the new substation for the process of the energy transition, which has already been initiated: “For years Lower Austria has already been supporting the expansion of renewable energies in the form of wind power, PV facilities or hydropower. To date approximately half of the overall amount of wind power in Austria is generated in Lower Austria. To be able to produce even more energy from sustainable resources and to become more independent from energy imports the domestic transmission grids have to be made fit for the future. On the one hand, to facilitate the transport of the generated energy to the consumers, and, on the other hand, to ensure the necessary grid stability. The envisioned energy transition can only be achieved with reliable partners such as APG or EVN-Netz NÖ.”

18-times more generation than consumption

The rapid modernization and expansion of the power grids is indispensable for the progress of the decarbonization of the entire energy system without jeopardizing the security of supply. “Until the scheduled completion of the project in 2029 central 380 kV lines from the north, south, east and west of Austria will converge at Sarasdorf: this means that the substation will become one of the largest and most important hubs in the APG grid! This will not only ensure the power supply in the region for the coming decades but, if necessary, also facilitate the integration of locally generated surplus energy from renewable sources into the trans-regional transmission grid. This means that in particular electricity from wind power plants can be made available all over Austria and stored in the pumped-storage plants in the Alps as needed. This is important since there is an installed capacity of 600 megawatt of renewable generation while the regional consumption is ‘only’ around 50 megawatt. Until 2030 the generation capacity will increase by another 300 megawatt – this means that there will be 18-times more generation than consumption“, says Gerhard Christiner, CTO at APG. And he adds: “With the expansion of the Sarasdorf substation and other projects totaling an investment of 9 billion euros until 2034 we are promoting the energy transition in Austria and increasing the security of supply for society, businesses and industry.”

Franz Mittermayer, chairman of the board at EVN, is also pleased that the expansion of the Sarasdorf substation will facilitate the integration of many more wind parks and PV facilities: “The expansion of renewable energies has to go hand in hand with the expansion of the grid infrastructure. The expansion of the energy hub Sarasdorf creates enormous grid capacities for renewables. We are talking about 40-50 new wind power plants, which means green electricity for about 230,000 households.”

About Austrian Power Grid (APG)

As independent transmission system operator Austrian Power Grid (APG) is in charge of ensuring the security of electricity supply in Austria. With our high-performance and digital electricity infrastructure and the use of state-of-the-art technologies we integrate renewable energies, we are the platform for the electricity market, and we provide access to reasonably priced electricity for Austria’s consumers and thus create the basis for Austria as supply-secure industrial and business location and place to live. The APG grid totals a length of about 3,400 km and is operated, maintained and continuously adapted to the increasing challenges of the electrification of businesses, industry and society by a team of approximately 733 specialists. Thanks to our committed employees Austria had a security of supply of 99.99 percent also in 2022 and thus ranks among the top countries worldwide. Our investments of 490 million euros in 2023 (2022: 370 million euros) are a motor for the Austrian economy and a crucial factor in reaching Austria’s climate and energy targets. Until 2034 APG will invest a total of approximately 9 billion euros in grid expansion and renovation projects.

About Netz NÖ

For the transport and distribution of electricity in Lower Austria, Netz NÖ operates a modern grid with a total length of around 54,000 km of medium and low-voltage lines and approx. 1,400 km of high-voltage lines. In addition, Netz NÖ currently runs over 90 substations, supplying around 844,000 customer installations.

To achieve the goals of the Austrian climate and energy strategy, the capacity of the electricity grid must be tripled by 2030. This means that 40 additional substations need to be built or existing ones replaced by 2030. In addition, Netz NÖ will have to build around 800 new transformer stations per year, including the associated reinforcement of the medium and low-voltage grid. Netz NÖ invests more than 360 million euros every year to prepare the electricity grid for the challenges of the future.