Germany needs 2,200km of fresh HVDC lines called "transmission super-highways" to transport energy from wind parks at sea and its coast in the North to power-thirsty industrial centres in the South, where several nuclear power stations will be switched off in the coming years.
But vociferous protests by not-in-my-backyard groups had prompted the government of the southern state of Bavaria to block plans for overground HVDC lines, leading to a compromise where most will be built underground.
