Hamburg, 08.10.2024 - On October 2, 2024, the Federal Administrative Court dismissed the actions brought by the municipality of Cappeln and several private individuals against the planning approval decision of the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport of October 14, 2023 for the construction and operation of the 380 kV Conneforde-Cloppenburg-Merzen line.
A CMS team led by Dr. Neele Christiansen represented the co-called project developer TenneT TSO GmbH (TenneT) in the proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court.
The planning approval decision authorizes the construction of the third section of the overall project, which is around 125 km long. The 380 kV extra-high voltage line will connect the substation in Conneforde with the Merzen area via Cloppenburg. The project is particularly urgent to ensure safe and reliable grid operation.
The Federal Administrative Court of First Instance has ruled that the planning approval decision is lawful. It does not encroach on the planning sovereignty of the complaining municipality and, quite rightly, does not provide for underground cabling. For the first time, the Federal Administrative Court has ruled that the distance to be maintained between extra-high voltage lines and residential buildings depends on the center of the line for projects within the scope of the Federal Requirements Plan Act. Regarding species protection, an underground cable is only justified if there are serious conflicts with species protection laws in the area. The Federal Administrative Court has thus provided valuable clarifications for planning practice.
The 11th Energy Senate of the Federal Administrative Court was responsible for the proceedings. The Senate deals with energy law proceedings that require special acceleration.
The case numbers at the Federal Administrative Court are 11 A 15/23, 11 A 16/23 and 11 A 18/23.
CMS Germany
Dr. Neele Christiansen, Partner
Jan Gröschel, LL.M., Senior Associate
Dr. Lisa Rueß, Senior Associate
Press Contact
presse@cms-hs.com
