Network congestion will continue to plague the Northern Netherlands for a long time

Tennet expects it will need at least another six to eight years to get the Drenthe-Groningen electricity grid in order. The grid operator hopes to be able to meet the rapidly growing demand for and large supply of electricity. Until then, agricultural companies will sometimes also be put on hold.

The power grid is overcrowded, especially in the Northern Netherlands. Together with the regional grid operator Enexis, Tennet is working hard on capacity expansion, an investment worth billions. For example, construction of a new distribution station recently started in Groningen’s Ter Apelkanaal, on the border with Drenthe. Another construction project will start in Veenoord later this year and similar projects will follow in the near future in Emmen, where there will be two expansions at a new location.

Cable connections will be constructed over 17 kilometers between Hoogeveen and Wijster to connect two new distribution stations. In addition, eleven existing intermediate stations of the high-voltage grid in Drenthe are being significantly upgraded. For this purpose, the connecting cables will also be reinforced until 2031.

According to the two grid operators, the operation is urgently needed. In addition to a rapidly growing demand for electricity, more and more sustainable energy is being offered via the electricity grid. On sunny or windy days, that supply can even be up to twelve times more than the consumption at that time. Tennet and Enexis must then get that electricity to where there is demand, which is also called congestion management.

Resolving bottlenecks takes years

All in all, it will take six to eight years before the biggest bottlenecks are resolved. According to Tennet, this is partly due to procedures to be followed, the ability to acquire sufficient building materials, the availability of personnel and any objections to the construction projects.

According to both grid operators, the waiting list for large-scale requests above 100,000 kilowatt hours is growing every day. In Drenthe, for example, there are 250 companies on the waiting list that want to purchase at least that much electricity. And another twice as many companies that want to supply significant volumes of sustainable electricity. How long these companies have to wait for access depends largely on where they are located and the speed at which new infrastructure can be built.

Tennet expects that the number of electricity producers will continue to increase in the coming years. These will mainly be concentrated in regions with a lot of activity. One of these is the Eemsmond.