Germany Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday the country must lay more power lines underground to take electicity generated by windpower in the north to industry in the south, to overcome opposition along the routes.
In an interview with ZDF television, Gabriel also said that state of Bavaria will have to accept power lines running through the southern German state and could not push them off onto to its neighbouring states of Hesse and Baden-Wuerttemberg.
"I believe we're going to have to put considerably more of the transmission lines underground because otherwise more people will oppose the lines," Gabriel said.
"I believe we need a willingness, in particular the financial willingness, to put more cables underground. The technology for that has improved considerably in recent years."
Power lines are seen as crucial to Germany's shift towards generating electricity from renewable sources of energy and away from nuclear and fossil fuels, known as the "Energiewende."