Berlin, 27 November 2025. The Federal Administrative Court has handed down a ruling on the first legal actions taken against the “SuedLink” grid expansion project: The High Court has held that the planning approval decision for segment E2 of project no. 3 in the Federal Requirements Plan Act (“SuedLink”) is not objectionable either in formal or substantive terms. The High Court itself sees “SuedLink” as one of the main arter‑ies in the energy transition. In the legal proceedings, Redeker lawyers Prof Dr Olaf Reidt and Dr Alexandra Kürschner served as counsel for the transmission system operator in charge of the southern section of the route, TransnetBW GmbH.
With a length of around 700 kilometres and an investment volume totalling roughly EUR 10 billion, SuedLink is the largest infrastructure project in the energy transition. The project revolves around a maximum voltage direct current underground cable running from Brunsbüttel in Schleswig‑Holstein to Großgartach in Baden‑Württemberg to transport wind energy from northern Germany to centres in southern Germany where the demand for electrical power is greatest while boosting the share of re‑newable energies in the energy supply. The overall project, which breaks down into 15 planning approval segments, is already in the construction phase and is scheduled to become operational in 2028.
The Federal Administrative Court dismissed the actions against planning approval section E2 in the first and final court instance. In particular, the objections raised with regard to the weight assigned to the business interests of the plaintiffs failed to convince the High Court. Nor were arguments concern‑ing the environmental impact of the project, including the effects of operational heat emissions on ag‑riculture, able to sway the opinion of the Court. Objections to the selected route forwarded in the al‑ternative assessment were similarly rejected.
