Germany agrees to speed cross-country power grids

FRANKFURT May 7 (Reuters) - Germany's parliament on Thursday passed a law to quicken the expansion of cross-regional power transmission networks, which will pave the way for improving transport of renewable energy to consumers.

The ruling coalition agreed to ease planning procedures for what the industry expects to total 850 kilometres of new high voltage lines.

These lines are necessary to transport offshore wind power output, which is expected to soar in the next decade to centres of consumption further south.

"We expect this package to pave the way for some 30 billion euros ($39.97 billion) of investments overall," said Hartmut Schauerte, an undersecretary in the Berlin Economy Ministry.

In a first step, getting a permit for some 24 planned lines will be handled more quickly than the usual eight to 10 years in the past, according to the law.

Germany aims to derive 30 percent of its power from renewables sources such as wind, solar and biomass by 2020.

Under the new provisions, power producers and traders will be able to handle more smoothly the flow of output from new power generation plants and traded power volumes.

European energy markets are increasingly converging, which means the future grid infrastructure has to be more efficient and stable to account for growth in cross-border transits.

A statement from the Environment Ministry said it had ensured that four main lines in areas where construction would have overly disrupted residents' lives or interfered with nature could be laid underground, although costs are far higher.

The law also exempts new power storage facilities from grid payments for 10 years to support a better absorption of volatile renewable power on the grids, the ministry said.

The additional costs will be borne by consumers as energy bills include those for the operation of transmission grids.

Energy industry group BDEW said in a statement it was sceptical about the underground cables because they were too expensive to built and would lose too much power on the way. (Reporting by Vera Eckert and Markus Wacket)