German grid operator TenneT has hired UK-headquartered Turner & Townsend to project manage part of the SuedOstLink, an underground high-voltage direct-current transmission line that will carry electricity generated from renewables in the north and east to the south of the country.

Turner & Townsend said its team will lead aspects of the project management function during the link’s construction phase in Bavaria.

It said horizontal directional drilling and micro tunnelling would be needed to lay a direct current earth cable along the line’s 280km southern section.

Several converter stations along the link will improve its transmission capacity.

Turner & Townsend will help coordinate the project’s supply chain, including planners, contractors, and ancillary trades.

TenneT said wind farms in the German North Sea generated more than 21 terawatt hours of electricity in 2022, a 4% increase on 2021.

Combined with 8TWh imported from the Dutch North Sea, offshore wind now powers around 9 million German households, TenneT said.