Shifting Currents Challenges and Solutions for the Planned Evolution of the German Transmission Grid By Olivier Feix I ImmedIately after the fukushIma nuclear disaster in 2011, the German federal government imposed a moratorium on nuclear power plants. In doing so, it shifted the fundamental transformation of the electrical system in the federal republic of Germany into top gear. Germany's neighboring countries did not remain unaffected. moving up the deadline for the nuclear phaseout increased the pace of the already approved development of renewable energy sources (ress) to counter climate change. moreover, Germany also increased its efforts to manage energy more efficiently and to decrease its dependence on foreign fossil fuels. the share of ress in German power consumption has now grown to 25% and is even above 35% in the 50hertz grid area in northern and eastern Germany. In fact, this region is now the global leader when it comes to integrating electricity from volatile renewables. the further development of ress (see figure 1) will continue to center on the low-consumption regions in the northern and eastern parts of Germany. after all, most renewable energy is generated there, at least with regard to wind power, which is still the reigning champion among green energy sources in Germany. meanwhile, the continuous drop in nuclear capacity is causing Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2013.2294816 Date of publication: 19 February 2014 36 ieee power & energy magazine ©iStockphoto.com/Nihat DurSuN 1540-7977/14/$31.00©2014IEEE march/april 2014http://www.iStockphoto.com/Nihat