EU needs to take decisive actions on electricity grids for competitiveness and security

30 July 2025

European citizens and businesses want affordable, secure, and clean energy. Homegrown wind energy helps boost Europe’s competitiveness, security and prosperity while delivering on decarbonisation. But insufficient grid build-out is hindering the deployment of wind energy. It leads to grid access restrictions, congestion and curtailment. Electricity demand in Europe is expected to rise by 60% by 2030. The EU needs to take decisive actions on electricity grids to keep pace.

The European Commission has now put on the table its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU’s budget for the years 2028-2034. It gives great importance to the expansion and optimisation of Europe’s electricity infrastructure in it. It allocates €67bn of the new European Competitiveness Fund to support electrification infrastructure and increases the Connecting Europe Facility to around €30bn.

Later this year – around the time of the negotiations for the MFF – the Commission will present the European Grids Package. It is expected to contain measures to modernise and expand grid infrastructure through better planning, faster permitting, and stronger cross-sector integration. And it is the perfect opportunity to align legislative proposals to urgently strengthen electricity grids with the MFF’s investment objectives.

European Grids Package – what needs to happen?

As the EU Commission closes its public consultation on the European Grids Package, here are the recommendations of the European wind industry on what it needs to contain.

Grid planning: Grids are a top priority for European infrastructure. They should be planned with a top-down EU or regional approach instead of the bottom-up approach currently used in the Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP), Europe’s main grid planning tool. Such planning should ensure the delivery of European and national targets and the effective engagement of relevant national stakeholders. And it should also consider grid resilience and stability needs beyond the national level.

Permitting: New transmission lines can take up to a decade to be approved. Permitting is slowed down by complex and inconsistent procedures. Repowering and electricity storage projects face similarly outdated rules. Europe needs a swift and uniform implementation of its permitting rules, including one-stop shops, digitalised processes, and harmonised environmental rules. Grid infrastructure should be a matter of overriding public interest, with fast-track procedures for new and upgraded assets.

Grid access: Grid access is the most widespread barrier to renewables deployment. The first-come, first-served model allows speculative projects to block grid capacity, crowding out mature projects. This leads to grid saturation and an unbalanced energy mix that compromises the business case of existing and new renewable generation. A smarter system is needed to prioritise projects that maximise the use of their grid connection or that contribute to accelerated system integration.

Financing the grid: The European Commission estimates €584bn must be mobilised by 2030 for grid investment. This is a challenge especially since the biggest share will be for national grids funded via end-user network tariffs. System operators will need political commitment to electrification and fit for purpose risk mitigation tools to make such big investments with long term benefits for the society. Current grid finance tools are often falling short – especially for distribution grids. National governments should consider instruments such as green bonds, government-backed guarantees, or targeted support for distribution system operators to ensure affordability for end users.

Unlocking flexibility: Wind energy curtailment is rising due to limited grid capacity and flexibility. Yet transparency on curtailment volumes and costs remains poor, and compensation is inconsistent across Member States, even when EU Regulation mandates it. This undermines investor confidence and further slows deployment. Demand-side response, battery storage, co-located hybrid plants must become a key part of grid planning and not remain as nice to have.