The partial authorisation for the construction of a converter plant to convert direct current into alternating current for the Suedlink power line has been granted lawfully. This was decided by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) (Ref.: 7 A 4.23 of 25 January 2024).

A citizens' initiative had filed a complaint against the plant. It criticised the factual competence of the immission control authority and above all criticised the fact that no environmental impact assessment (EIA) had been carried out. As a result, species protection could not be adequately guaranteed.

The BVerwG dismissed the complaint. The converter plant also fulfilled the function of a transformer station and was therefore subject to authorisation under immission control law. No EIA is required by law for such installations. This only applies to underground cables. According to the BVerwG's press release, obstacles to authorisation under water, species protection, building and immission control law „do not stand in the way of either the construction measures already permitted or the future overall project“. The converter plant is a „privileged outdoor area project and permissible under construction planning law.“ This means that the construction of the converter plant can now continue.

The Suedlink power line is a key infrastructure project of the energy transition. The high-voltage direct current transmission lines, which are around 700 kilometres long, connect the wind energy regions in the north with the south of Germany. Together with the Berlin law firm Weiss & Müller, DOMBERT Rechtsanwälte is advising the Federal Network Agency on the planning procedures for Suedlink.

The team under the leadership of Rechtsanwalt Janko Geßner and Rechtsanwalt Dr Jan Thiele belong to Rechtsanwalt Dr Maximilian Dombert, Rechtsanwalt Tobias Ross and lawyer Izabela Bochno to.