[foepys]

This is typical CDU conservative talk from Merz. He is on a war path with anything Angela Merkel did because she saw him as politically inexperienced and shunned him. So he had to work for Blackrock.

The CSU (the Bavarian equivalent and permanent coalition partner of the CDU) is also demanding to reactivate nuclear power plants but at the same time is not willing to store any spent nuclear fuel. The CSU is also notoriously anti renewables and does not want new power lines in their "beautiful scenery" to get the renewable power from northern Germany to Bavaria.

[eru]

Well, you could bury power lines. It's just pretty expensive.

[TkTech]

Hard to understate just how expensive. Here in Montreal where ice storms kill and cause billions in damage, we still don't bury the main transmission lines. We been burying almost everything _in_ the city where having to repair millions of individual connections (again) would be impractical, but it's relatively simple to repair the limited major lines into the city.

From CBC:

> Current estimates are that it would cost five to 10 times more to distribute electricity to a big city via underground cables, and that not all of nature's problems would be alleviated even if that were done.

[defrost]

Horizontal directional drilling costs $10 to $30 (USD) per linear foot with upfront fixed costs of $30K or so.

How does that compare to building above ground towers to support cable weight in all conditions?

I'd assume / guesstimate that route planning, community advisement, actual cable length, etc. costs are more or less the same in either case.

[eru]

> Horizontal directional drilling costs $10 to $30 (USD) per linear foot with upfront fixed costs of $30K or so.

Underground power lines are expensive, but not that expensive. As far as I know, you dig a ditch, put the power line into it, and then put the material back in over the top.

Why would you drill?

[defrost]

To pass under roads, under rivers, avoid digging up tarmac, houses, orchards, crops, things on the surface, etc.

Trenching is straightforward, I mention horizontal directional drilling as that puts a cap on the total cost of going underground Vs pylons and above ground stringing.