Europe's push for affordable clean energy is hitting a wall—not from a lack of ambition or investment, but from an outdated electricity grid that was designed for a different era. A new report by consulting firm AFRY, commissioned by the non-profit Beyond Fossil Fuels, reveals that over €100 billion worth of renewable energy projects are stuck in connection queues across the continent. Specifically, 375 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity and 455 GW of battery storage are waiting to be connected to distribution grids in eight key countries: Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Great Britain.
To grasp the scale: a single 1 GW power plant running continuously could supply roughly 876,000 households annually. The backlog represents a massive missed opportunity. While Europe's renewable boom saved the EU an estimated €51 billion in 2025 by cutting oil and gas imports, almost a third (29%) of the bloc's electricity still comes from fossil fuels. Without intervention, the report warns, Europe risks deepening its reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets.
Why the Grid Is Stalling the Energy Transition
Europe's energy grid was originally built around coal and later natural gas, which typically flow from large, centrally located power plants. In contrast, wind and solar farms are often sited in remote areas—offshore, on hilltops, or across sprawling fields—making it harder for distribution system operators (DSOs) to transport that electricity to homes and businesses. The result: connection queues are becoming more congested, stalling the green transition and weakening Europe's industrial competitiveness.
“As fossil fuels continue to fail us, DSOs need to keep up with the pace of the transition to cleaner energy to protect Europe's energy security and improve affordability for consumers,” says Duygu Kutluay, a campaigner at Beyond Fossil Fuels. “Without governance and operational reforms, Europe's renewable potential will be stifled, not for lack of ambition or investment, but due to constraints in the very networks meant to deliver it.”
The European Commission has proposed a European Grids Package, unveiled in 2025, which pledges €1.2 trillion in grid investments by 2040 and aims to add over 500 GW of new renewables. The package includes strategic “energy highways” to address eight key bottlenecks—such as connecting electricity across the Pyrenees to better integrate the Iberian Peninsula, ending Cyprus's electricity isolation, and strengthening Baltic States' interconnection to reduce reliance on Russia. However, Beyond Fossil Fuels argues the package does not fully tackle distribution-level bottlenecks and “could go further” in supporting DSOs.
“In today's European energy transition context, the value of new gigawatts increasingly depends on the ability to connect them, move them, and balance them,” says Chiara Natalicchio, a senior consultant at AFRY. “Networks—across both transmission and distribution—are the critical enabler: they ultimately decide whether new resources translate into usable value in a power system that is becoming more electrified, more distributed, and more volatile.”
Real-World Delays: From Germany to Spain to Britain
In Germany, an energy community has been waiting more than two years to connect rooftop solar panels across a multi-building housing complex—despite having secured investment. Slow digitalisation and distribution-level grid constraints are to blame, driving up tenants' energy bills. Anna Leidreiter, board member of BürgerEnergie Nord, says solar panels directly benefit people's wallets by allowing them to generate their own electricity. “But for that to happen, distribution grid operators must upgrade their IT systems and implement better administrative measures,” she adds. “Fossil fuel conflicts around the world pose a threat to us. That is why we need DSOs to act quickly to connect more solar energy, not only as the energy of the future, but also as the energy of freedom and security.”
In the Spanish municipality of Terrassa, grid capacity limits are blocking rooftop solar on public buildings and shared clean energy projects. “Trying to connect renewable energy projects has become an absolute obstacle course,” says Pau Sales, environmental technician at Terrassa Municipality. “The biggest challenge we face with distribution companies and grid access, is with their administrative systems, which are slow and difficult to navigate. Ongoing delays and barriers at the distribution-level waste both time and public money, while contributing to frustration among those committed to the energy transition.”
In Britain, social housing provider Together Housing planned to install 1,500 heat pumps per year to lower heating costs for tenants amid the cost-of-living crisis. Tenants already using heat pumps save about £250 (€288) annually, but distribution-level constraints have slowed the rollout. “Our progress is being constrained by under-resourced distribution network operators and limited grid capacity,” says Gemma Voaden of Together Housing. “We cannot achieve the scale and pace of our goal without improvements to the grid and system operators.”
The broader picture is clear: Europe's grid is the critical bottleneck in the clean energy transition. As the continent pushes for electrification—a high-stakes bet on a cleaner, competitive future—the ability to connect new renewables and storage will determine whether that bet pays off. Without urgent reforms, the queue of €100 billion in projects will only grow longer, leaving Europeans waiting years for the affordable, clean energy they need.
