Converter plant in Tonstad. Photo: Tenne T / NordLink
From 2030, the Mågeli hydroelectric power plant near Tyssedal in southern Norway is expected to supply Deutsche Bahn with almost 190 gigawatt hours of green electricity annually. This amount is sufficient to cover the energy needs of the approximately 40,000 trains that run daily in the "northern canton" for about a week.
This is made possible by the NordLink North Sea cable, which has directly connected the electricity grids of Norway and Germany since April. Deutsche Bahn (DB) has thus concluded the first cross-border, long-term green electricity contract, known as a cross-border power purchase agreement (PPA). The partner is the Norwegian state-owned energy company Statkraft, headquartered in Oslo. Compared to a similar amount of coal-fired power, the hydropower from Norway saves up to 146,000 tons of CO2 per year.
CEO
Richard Lutz: “Ten years earlier than previously planned, we will be completely climate-neutral by 2040. Our ambitious climate protection plans can hardly be met by the current supply of green electricity in Germany alone. This contract is therefore of strategic importance – for both partners as well as for climate protection.”
Cross-section of the submarine cable.
Two further green electricity contracts concluded by Deutsche Bahn (DB) in Germany will result in more than 100,000 tons of annual CO2 savings and almost four days of sustainable rail transport on the rail network: For ten years, more than 90 gigawatt hours of hydropower from the Black Forest will be supplied to DB annually. RWE is the partner in the contract, which begins in 2023.
Converter station in Tonstad:
Starting next year, wind power from Hohen Pritz in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will enrich the green electricity portfolio for two years. This is green electricity from a wind farm that is over 20 years old and whose government subsidies have expired. The contract ensures that the wind turbines will continue to generate almost 40 gigawatt-hours of green electricity per year. The contracting partner is the company Ane Energy.
Generator station in Mågeli. Image: statkravt.
According to its own figures, DB currently covers over 61 percent (2014: 42 percent) of its ten terawatt hours of railway electricity demand per year with renewable energies.
Video about the construction of the NordLink cable connection 
