Grid capacity map Germany: official sources explained
Which official grid capacity maps exist for Germany, how to read them, what they don't tell you, and a five-step workflow to screen a site before you talk to the grid operator.
Official sources
For Germany: Netzanschlusskarte (TransnetBW) (TransnetBW); Netztransparenz (the four TSOs); Marktstammdatenregister (Bundesnetzagentur).
How to read them
There is no single national capacity map. TSOs and many of the ~850 DSOs publish their own connection maps or lists; the Marktstammdatenregister shows what is already connected.
What they don't tell you
Formats differ per operator, and large battery queues mean published headroom is often already reserved.
None of the official maps tell you whether there is usable land nearby, what the zoning is, or whether noise, flood or nature rules will block a project.
A five-step screen
1. Check the official source for the area's status. 2. On Gridscouter, find the nearest substations at the right voltage and their BESS, solar, wind or data-center score. 3. Run the land finder for plots within a set radius, filtered by size and land use. 4. Run quick due diligence on the best plots: noise, flood, nature, heritage and industrial-safety buffers. 5. Submit a Netzanschlussbegehren to the relevant operator; for BESS, note the 200 m substation rule in § 35 BauGB.
Caveat
Gridscouter scores are estimates from open data, not grid operator capacity figures. Always confirm capacity with the operator.