Outdated planning and obsolete mandates are slowing the upgrade and buildout of Europe’s electricity grids, delaying connection of renewable and flexibility projects, which can make energy clean and more affordable, an independent report has found.
Europe’s electricity grid is failing to keep pace with the renewable power transformation despite pockets of good practice, the report concludes. It was published on Tuesday by the environmental group Beyond Fossil Fuels with consultants E3G, Ember and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
“Too many grid operators are working according to outdated national scenarios that don’t acknowledge the exponential scale of growth in renewables. The result is gridlock and wasted power,” it adds.
With the EU announcing its roadmap to phase out remaining Russian fossil fuels, grids will be essential not only to unlocking the home-grown renewables and electrification needed to end Europe’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, “but also to advancing decarbonisation of Europe’s economy with cost-effective sources of power”.
Analysis of 32 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) across 28 countries including EirGrid in Ireland, finds “many are still using outdated scenarios rooted in old government targets and market assumptions”.
“These scenarios do not reflect the exponential growth in renewables ... and act as a systemic handbrake on building a flexible grid capable of absorbing increasingly high shares of renewables. The recent power outage in the Iberian Peninsula served as a reminder of the critical importance of grid upgrades and governance as the cornerstone of energy resilience,” it added.
Unless grid planning rules and legal mandates of TSOs and regulators are updated, it warned that “Europe risks a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby fossil gas appears ‘necessary’ simply because grid operators never adequately planned for a power system based on renewables”.
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With grid modernisation and integration essential to support the electrified economy of the future, the authors call for more robust governance and oversight from governments and regulators.
The report identifies only five TSOs considering scenarios in which renewables replace nearly all coal and gas by 2035: EirGrid, Energinet (Denmark), Fingrid (Finland), National Grid (UK) and Litgrid (Lithuania).
This is despite 13 countries aiming for decarbonised power sectors in the same time frame. “Crucially, such forecasts generally correlate with stronger policy commitments in these countries, demonstrating the importance of political leadership,” it says.
“Europe’s electricity grids will be the lifeline that drives economic growth and ensures energy security over the next decade. Yet, at present, many grid operators are heading into the future while looking in the rear-view mirror.”
The report says 1,700 gigawatts of renewables projects across 16 countries are stuck in grid connection queues, over three times the capacity additions needed to reach EU energy and climate targets for 2030.
Some €7.2 billion in renewable electricity was curtailed across just seven countries including Ireland in 2024, meaning clean energy was wasted, while power generators were still compensated, with the costs falling on electricity bill payers.
Only five energy regulators have a duty to climate neutrality included in their legal responsibilities, while 11 TSOs make no reference to climate targets at all.
“To unlock a resilient, fossil-free economy, governments must send clear political signals about the need to meet climate targets, ensuring grid operators plan with the ambition and foresight the transition demands,” said E3G research manager Vilislava Ivanova.
