Europe’s electricity grid is failing to keep pace with the renewable energy transition, according to a new report.
With the EU announcing last week its roadmap to phase out remaining Russian fossil fuels by 2027, electricity grids will be essential to replacing them with homegrown green energy.
The report from Beyond Fossil Fuels, E3G, Ember and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis looked at 32 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) across 28 countries.
They found that many are using out-of-date scenarios based on old government targets and assumptions about the electricity market. This outdated grid planning and weak governance are stalling Europe’s transition to renewable energy.
“Governments urgently need to dislodge these fatbergs from the planning system so that grid operators can get renewable projects hooked up,” says Juliet Phillips, energy campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels.
Phillips adds that giving TSOs and their regulators a climate mandate could ensure they make the long-term investments and decisions to “future-proof” our energy systems. “It’s the only way to break free from fossil fuel imports, and cut bills and emissions,” she says.
Where in Europe are renewable energy projects stalling?
Over 1,700 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects across 16 countries were stuck in the queue to be connected to the electricity grid - more than three times the capacity the EU needs to reach energy and climate targets for 2030.
The UK had the highest amount of renewable energy stuck in these connection queues at 722 GW of wind and solar power. It was followed by Finland with 400 GW, Italy with 348 GW and Germany with 70 GW.
€7.2 billion in renewable energy was wasted across just seven countries in 2024 because it couldn’t be accommodated by electricity grids. And that data is limited because of what TSOs were able to provide to the report’s authors. Many don’t track the curtailment of renewables or what it costs.
What data there is provides insight into what is wasted in some of Europe’s biggest economies. In Germany alone, as much as €3.3 billion of wind and solar power was curtailed last year. For Spain, it may have been up to €2.5 billion in 2024.
In these places, clean energy was wasted while those who generated the power were still compensated, with the extra cost often falling on bill payers.
Fossil fuels could become a self-fulfilling prophecy
The report warns that unless the planning and regulation around upgrading electricity grids is updated, Europe risks a “self-fulfilling prophecy” where fossil gas appears necessary because grid operators never planned for a system based on renewables.
Only five grid operators were planning for a fully decarbonised grid by 2035: EirGrid (Ireland), Energinet (Denmark), Fingrid (Finland), National Grid (UK) and Litgrid (Lithuania). This is despite 13 countries having clean power targets for the same timeframe.
“Europe’s electricity grid is not modernising fast enough, and that must change,” says Vilislava Ivanova, research manager at E3G.
Governments must send “clear political signals” to grid operators about the need to meet climate targets to unlock a resilient fossil fuel free economy, Ivanova adds.
“Only through political leadership, independent governance, and clear incentives can we ensure grids become enablers, not barriers, of Europe’s clean and competitive energy future.”