EU Energy Ministers Back Major Grid Investments; SolarPower Europe Advocates for Flexibility

EU Energy Ministers have adopted crucial conclusions on enhancing the EU’s electricity grid infrastructure, marking a significant advancement in the region’s energy transition efforts.

In response to the adopted conclusions, Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, issued a statement highlighting the importance of these developments.

“Today is a key milestone in the energy transition. Energy Ministers have delivered positive proposals on accelerating electricity grid investments in Europe at both the transmission and distribution levels. This includes calling for regulation that facilitates anticipatory investments and urging the European Investment Bank to step up in financing grid upgrades,” Hemetsberger stated.

She emphasized that while grid enhancements are vital for the energy transition, the role of flexibility—including battery storage and demand response—is equally critical. Flexibility solutions enable grids to quickly adapt as infrastructure development progresses. However, Hemetsberger expressed disappointment that the Ministers did not address the challenges associated with scaling up battery storage and other flexibility solutions with the same rigor as they did for grid infrastructure.

“Currently, there are no financial incentives for solar and battery systems, nor for system operators to integrate flexibility when planning grid investments. We are significantly behind the target of 200GW of battery storage needed by 2030. Flexibility is the faster and more cost-effective solution to avoid negative pricing in electricity markets,” she added.

Hemetsberger concluded by urging EU leaders to elevate clean flexibility on the political agenda. “We applaud today’s conclusions on grids, but we urge EU leaders to take the next step on clean flexibility, for example by setting political goals for energy storage and demand response for 2030 and 2040. We need to keep flexibility high on the political agenda.”

The call to action emphasizes the need for flexibility frameworks, which provide price signals to flexibility providers reflecting system stress and needs, to be prioritized alongside grid infrastructure improvements.