Facts
Axpo AG planned to replace the existing 220-kV overhead line Beznau-Birr with a 380/220-kV overhead line with partially modified routing. The municipality of Riniken and parties involved applied for the cabling of the high-voltage line in the Gäbihübel area. The Federal Administrative Court dismissed the application, considering the cabling to be disproportionately expensive. The municipality of Riniken and parties involved lodged a complaint and applied for the reversal of the decision and the cabling of the high-voltage line.
The Federal Court reversed the decision of the Federal Administrative Court and referred the matter back to the Federal Office of Energy, with the instruction that Axpo AG must develop a specific project for the partial cabling of Riniken.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the complaint of violation of the right to be heard and the related factual complaints of the complainants. It found that the Federal Administrative Court had rejected the application for a neutral expert opinion, although the complainants had submitted two comprehensive expert opinions to the files.
The Federal Court found that the non-consideration of the Brakelmann II expert opinion by the Federal Administrative Court was to be considered a violation of the right to be heard. It examined the balancing of interests and found that the cabling of the high-voltage line in the Gäbihübel area was the best solution to protect the…