European Commission publishes new EU grids rules to boost renewables

On 10 December 2025, the European Commission published a new European “Grids Package” combining legislative proposals and non-binding guidance to speed up grid buildout, accelerate permitting, and improve EU-level coordination for network planning. 

This matters because Europe’s power networks are being pushed to evolve quickly toward a more decentralised, digitalised, and flexible system, while demand is expected to rise materially this decade. The Commission also points to an ageing grid base and the scale of investment needed to keep up. 

What’s included in the Grids Package

SolarPower Europe’s statement highlights that the package spans multiple components, including:

• A Grid Package Communication
• Permitting amendments
• TEN-E (Trans-European Networks for Energy) amendments
• Grid Connection Guidance
• CfDs (Contracts for Difference) guidance 

Grid Connection Guidance: the practical centerpiece

In its first reaction, SolarPower Europe calls the Grid Connection Guidance the “highlight” because it pushes Member States toward rules that reward and prioritise grid-friendly projects such as hybrid solar + storage, plus broader flexibility and digitalisation across voltage levels. 

The statement’s summary of the guidance includes:

• More grid transparency and digitalisation
• Stronger emphasis on hybrid systems and energy storage
• A push toward dynamic and time-of-use tariffs
  
  

It also calls out Flexible Connection Agreements, where users accept that they can only inject or draw power when capacity is available, and must reduce activity when the grid is congested. 

Permitting: storage and hybrids move closer to “fast lane”

It also flags a “long-overdue move” toward targeted permitting legislation for energy storage, positioning it as a way to connect batteries faster, whether stand-alone or paired with renewables. 

In SolarPower Europe’s overview, the permitting amendments aim to:

• Make it harder to designate broad no-go areas for renewables
• Speed up land permits for stand-alone storage and hybridisation with batteries
• Require a digital permitting platform
  
  

Planning and cross-border coordination: stronger EU-level governance

The statement frames the TEN-E amendment as a step-change because it would create new governance for EU-level planning, with the European Commission responsible for ensuring cross-border planning aligns with energy and climate goals.

SolarPower Europe’s summary says TEN-E amendments would:

• Establish a central EU scenario for planning electricity and hydrogen transmission networks
• Create 8 “Energy Highways”
• Put Energy Efficiency First as a priority
  
  

The missing piece: distribution grids and flexibility incentives

A notable critique in the statement is the lack of a sharper spotlight on distribution system operators (DSOs), which SolarPower Europe argues are crucial for near-term relief through flexibility tools like demand response and other non-wire solutions that can be deployed faster than major grid upgrades. 

What this means for technical teams in solar, storage, and hybrid plants

The Package rewards a specific technical profile:

• Controllability: fast response to constraints (power setpoints, ramp control, reactive power, charging/discharging control)
• Observability: clear telemetry, event logs, and performance evidence to support queue readiness and operational compliance
• Flexibility: ability to shift export/import in time (storage, hybridisation, demand response)
• Digital process maturity: permitting and connection processes increasingly depend on structured data flows and transparent status tracking
  
  

It also flags a gap: distribution system operators (DSOs) are central to near-term congestion relief and flexibility value, and they need mechanisms to be remunerated for enabling non-wire solutions and demand-side flexibility. 

What happens next

According to SolarPower Europe, the permitting and TEN-E amendments will go through the normal EU legislative process before adoption, while the communication and guidance are non-legislative and intended to steer Member State and Commission action. 

Why this is happening now

Beyond decarbonisation goals, the EU is also tying grid acceleration to competitiveness and energy costs. Reporting around the package indicates the Commission is targeting faster approvals for grid projects and broader measures to modernise infrastructure, in part to address industrial power-price pressure and reduce renewable curtailment driven by grid bottlenecks. 

Why grid-friendly BESS will be the winning connection strategy

The EU Grids Package makes one thing explicit: the projects that will connect faster and operate with fewer constraints are the ones that can prove readiness and deliver flexibility on demand: especially under flexible (non-firm) connections, dynamic tariffs, and tighter queue discipline. In practice, that points straight to BESS as a grid-access enabler, not just a revenue add-on.

This is exactly where Delfos’ BESS solution fits: by combining continuous asset monitoring with performance analytics and operational intelligence, Delfos helps operators keep storage systems available, responsive, and compliant: the capabilities you need to follow dispatch setpoints, manage curtailment windows, and document operational behavior when system operators and regulators demand transparency. 

As grid rules evolve toward “first-ready, first-served” and flexibility-first interconnection, a BESS that is engineered and operated to be predictable becomes a competitive advantage for interconnection timelines and long-term plant value.
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