Trends in Transmission and Distribution


In most of Europe and North America, the electricity transmission and distribution grids reached maturity in the decades following the Second World War. The network was designed around central generating stations to power the grid. The grid was developed to reach a majority of the population and provide a stable source of electricity to industry and consumers, thus powering the growth of the post-war economies.
This system has worked well for most of its life. Currently, however, these countries are seeing a transition to new forms of electricity transmission and distribution, as well as generation. Additionally, much of the infrastructure that was put in place in the post-war and subsequent years to develop the network is reaching the end of its useful life.
Undergrounding
The Netherlands and Germany are two European countries to be seen as examples in undergrounding. The entire distribution grid in the Netherlands, for example, is underground. Germany also has policies in place to promote the undergrounding of the distribution network and to use underground lines preferentially in new construction and expansion. Even in transmission networks, these countries are leading the way with policies aimed at putting the bulk of new construction underground.
With many new wind farms supplying electricity to the grid, both onshore and offshore, the transmission networks are being expanded. Estimates in Germany are that the grid will need to expand significantly by 2030 to meet the goals of renewable energy policies. Various government schemes and incentives are promoting the undergrounding of this expansion. In the Netherlands, as a matter of policy, every new KM of the line must be underground, or it can be built aboveground only if an equal length of cable is undergrounded.

Undergrounding does come at a higher cost to both install and maintain. However, underground transmission and especially distribution cabling does offer greater protection against the elements resulting in fewer weather-related outages, and no need to maintain an overhead power line’s right of way with regards to trees. 

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