European Current: 4 September 2026

Several countries took steps that should benefit smaller, shorter-duration renewable energy assets. Croatia 🇭🇷 and Spain 🇪🇸 both shifted to 15-minute intervals for bidding rounds, bringing them in line with the European Union's (EU) transition to 15-minute market time units in September 2025. Narrowing the gap between the timing of trades and capacity delivery reduces forecasting error and imbalance charge exposure for distributed energy assets, such as batteries, increasing arbitrage opportunities.

Some capacity markets will begin to accept smaller projects. Croatia 🇭🇷 is reducing its minimum bid size from 3 MW to 1 MW and Romania's 🇷🇴 will be 0.5 MW. The Nordic transmission system operators (TSOs), meanwhile, jointly moved to require a mandatory minimum quantity on every automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) and manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR). This change is intended to make Nordic capacity markets more efficient, as it will result in more divisible bids, allowing the auction process to more precisely fit them to capacity needs.

In Hungary 🇭🇺, the Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) issued a decree that abolished the fee for tender documents and increased the number of tiers in its capacity market participation from two to three. Projects under 14 megavolt-amperes will see no change, but larger projects will face a 50 percent increase.

In addition to taking steps to provide electricity to electric grids, multiple countries are exploring changes to how they determine grid charges, largely to address the distribution of costs associated with the energy transition. In Germany 🇩🇪, the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has opened a consultation on reforming the General Network Charges System to address the distribution of congestion-management costs as the country brings more renewable energy systems (RES) online. Simultaneously, the German government is extending a transmission network subsidy that reduces system charges for RES.

Slovakia 🇸🇰 and Sweden 🇸🇪 are also accepting public feedback on these costs, while Denmark 🇩🇰 issued guidance intended to accelerate the approval of tariff methodologies and connect RES to the electric system more quickly.

MEKH set out two separate regulations to address grid costs: one establishes the methodology MEKH will use to review licensees' assets and costs, and the other sets out how MEKH determines network-usage tariffs each year. In effect these two measures define the starting point and adjustment to tariffs on an annual basis.

But as some bodies are exploring ways to reduce friction for RES, others are creating more challenges. On the island of Ireland 🇮🇪, EirGrid (the Irish TSO) and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) published updated Transmission Loss Adjustment Factors (TLAF) for the next 12 months. These are site-specific multipliers used to allocate costs for transmission losses that apply directly to generators and interconnectors connected to the transmission or distribution system. The new rates will see the wind-rich west and northwest face a lower TLAF than other regions, meaning a smaller amount of the metered generation for projects in those areas will be eligible for settlement and revenue.

Ireland's 🇮🇪 Single Electricity Market (SEM) Committee also decided to set its imperfections charge at €793.23 million for the next 12 months. Although this is a slight increase from last year's annual rate of €790.24 million, it is lower than the initial proposal of €796.92 million. This charge intends to cover the costs of curtailment for generators, so a smaller pot of money means less compensation per megawatt-hour (MWh) of curtailment.

Two countries took steps to increase the amount of uncompensated output loss for generators, too. The Swiss Federal Electricity Commission (ElCom) will allow distribution operators to curtail up to three percent of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system's annual output without consent from or compensation to the owner. And Denmark's 🇩🇰 Agency for Green Land Redevelopment and Aquatic Environment (SGAV) will require wind sites to shut down at certain times to protect bats. Although some of these moves are relatively small in scale, they each increase uncompensated risk for RES.

Several government bodies reached decisions on proposed renewable energy projects. While each of the solar and storage projects in our sample moved forward this week, every single rejected asset in our sample was a wind project.

In Italy 🇮🇹, the two projects would have totaled 115.2 MW and were assessed as nationally strategic projects, putting them on a fast track under the country's Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan and National Recovery and Resilience Plan. However, both failed following environmental reviews.

The Monte Pranu project, a 72 MW wind farm that would have been located in Sardinia, received negative judgments on its environmental compatibility and cultural heritage impacts. The Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) rejected the project due to negative conclusions on, among other things, the project's impacts on biodiversity, fire risk, and archaeological sites. A 43.2 MW wind farm intended for Sicily failed on environmental grounds, though it did not receive a negative conclusion on the cultural questions.

A 125 MW wind farm in Spain 🇪🇸 also failed due to environmental issues, as well as lapsed grid access permits. Conversely, the proposed 322 MW K2 Ventum wind park in Latvia 🇱🇻 actually received a positive opinion from the Energy and Environment Agency, but the Cabinet of Ministers ultimately rejected the project on procedural grounds, determining that the project had failed to adequately consult with the local community.

However, it was not all bad news for European wind. In Greece 🇬🇷, the Ministry of Environment and Energy moved a cluster of three onshore wind farms totalling 64.2 MW through the environmental assessment phase, though the project has yet to receive approval for construction.

This is just one week's worth of decisions, and it is a small sample size, so we will avoid drawing grand conclusions. However, should this trend continue, it suggests increasingly higher development risk premiums and greater capital expenditure for wind compared to other renewable energy assets.

Croatia 🇭🇷

2 September (+): Croatia's transmission system operator (HOPS) adopted new rules to govern the procurement of aFRR and mFRR. mFRR will move from weekly to daily auctions, while the bidding window for aFRR will now open seven days before delivery. Additionally, bids will now occur in 15-minute intervals, and the minimum bid size will decrease from 3 MW to 1 MW. The purchase of these reserves allows HOPS to balance grid frequency in real time and provides battery storage operators with a secondary revenue stream. The new rules, which will take effect on 15 September, allow a greater number of storage projects to participate in capacity balancing and reduce the degree of forecasting risk. (HOPS)

Finland 🇫🇮

31 August (+): In October, Fingrid will not charge balance-responsible parties (BRPs) a production and consumption volume fee due to low reserve costs from balance service fees and better-than-expected results from electricity trading. This is a direct reduction in costs for BRPs in Finland. (Fingrid)

Ireland 🇮🇪

28 August (-): The Single Electricity Market (SEM) Committee published a decision paper to set the imperfections charge for the 12 months from October 2026 to September 2027 at €793.23 million, which equates to a price of €18.81 per megawatt-hour (MWh). This is slightly lower than the proposed charge of €796.92 million. The imperfections charge is a per-unit fee on suppliers intended to cover the costs of curtailment for generators. These suppliers often pass the cost through to consumers. Irish generators will therefore receive less compensation for curtailment as the SEM Committee attempts to reduce electricity costs. (SEM Committee)

2 September (neutral): EirGrid and SONI published the Transmission Loss Adjustment Factors that will be in effect from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. These are site-specific multipliers used to allocate costs for transmission losses. They apply directly to generators and interconnectors connected to the transmission or distribution system. For the relevant 12-month period, western and northwestern Ireland will face a lower factor, meaning a smaller amount of the metered generation for projects in those areas will be eligible for settlement and revenue. Conversely, a higher factor will apply in the east, southeast, and southwest. (EirGrid)

Nordics 🇩🇰 🇫🇮 🇳🇴 🇸🇪

31 August (neutral): The four Nordic TSOs set 24 November 2026 as the deadline to implement a change that requires every aFRR and mFRR capacity market bid to carry a minimum quantity. This makes setting a minimum quantity a real commercial decision for BRPs. Set the minimum quantity too low and the bid is more likely to succeed, but the volume might be too low to cover costs. Set it too high and the bid is more likely to be rejected. (Nordic Balancing Model)

Romania 🇷🇴

2 September (+): The Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) approved a regulation to create a market mechanism for its TSO to buy dispatchable flexibility in the event of system adequacy crises, such as resource shortages or extreme weather. When activated, auctions will run daily for up to one month, with a minimum bid of 0.5 MW, merit-order selection, and settlement tied to verified load reduction. This creates an additional, though occasional and contingent, market opportunity for demand-side flexibility assets. (Transelectrica)

Spain 🇪🇸

31 August (+): The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) approved amendments to Spain's Rules of Operation of the Daily and Intraday Electricity Markets to move the continuous intraday market from its current hourly structure to a new 96-round per day system (one round every 15 minutes). Increasing the number of rounds allows energy assets to trade their positions closer to their delivery period, reducing forecasting errors and imbalance charge exposure, and improving arbitrage opportunities for batteries. (CNMC)

Switzerland 🇨🇭

28 August (-): ElCom published a framework for the curtailment of electricity from solar PV assets, as well as the associated compensation. Under this framework, distribution network operators will be able to curtail up to three percent of a PV system's annual production without the owner's consent and without compensation. The operator can curtail further if there is a contract in place that provides for compensation, so long as this curtailment serves specific network purposes, such as relieving congestion. This creates additional curtailment and revenue risk for Swiss PV assets. (ElCom)

Germany 🇩🇪

2 September (+): The federal government will extend its subsidy for electricity transmission network charges through 2029 at a rate of approximately €5.5 billion per year. While the purpose of this subsidy is primarily to reduce electricity costs for consumers and businesses, a lower system-wide cost burden could make on-site solar, wind, and storage more attractive by reducing the gap between wholesale and delivered power prices. It also reduces near-term cost uncertainty for large loads. (Bundesregierung)

Hungary 🇭🇺

30 August (+): MEKH published a tender to allocate spare capacity on the transmission network to additional wind power capacity. The deadline to submit an application is 30 October 2026. (MEKH)

Italy 🇮🇹

28 August (neutral): MASE approved a fee of €0.0625 per MWh, capped at €1.5m per year, to be paid by companies participating in the energy release mechanism. This scheme allows industrial customers to source electricity from a GSE-managed renewable energy portfolio at below-market prices for three years in exchange for committing to invest in additional domestic renewable capacity. (MASE)

Denmark 🇩🇰

28 August (-): SGAV published guidance on developers' duty to protect certain species, mainly bats, when assessing onshore renewable energy projects. Under the regulation, from April to October standard wind sites will be required to shut down at night when winds are below five to six meters per second, while higher-risk sites will need to shut down when winds are below eight to 10 meters per second. This creates additional curtailment risk for Danish wind projects. (Retsinformation)

Denmark 🇩🇰

2 September (+): The Danish Utilities Authority published guidance to help electricity and gas companies to comply with the EU's tariff-setting requirements on transparency and non-discrimination. The goal is to create faster regulatory reviews so renewable energy projects could connect to the network more quickly. (Forsyningstilsynet)

Hungary 🇭🇺

28 August (+): MEKH issued a series of decrees to meet EU requirements for Recovery and Resilience Facility loans after these funds had been frozen for years due to corruption and rule of law violations. The decrees include updates to tariff methodologies, easier permitting for wind and solar, and firm deadlines for grid connections for rooftop solar. (MEKH)

Estonia 🇪🇪

4 September (+): The Estonian Minister of Energy and Environment issued a regulation establishing the criteria for biomethane, biomass, and other bio-based fuel producers to demonstrate and calculate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. Doing so will allow them to be counted toward GHG emissions reduction targets, which is a precondition for accessing feed-in support and corporate offtake claims. (Riigi Teataja)

European Union 🇪🇺

(Neutral): The European Commission is reviewing the core EU ETS and the Market Stability Reserve mechanism. Any change to these systems would impact the carbon price that ETS-exposed electricity generators would pay. The review is open for public consultation. The deadline to respond is 21 October 2026. (European Commission)

Bulgaria 🇧🇬

(Neutral): The Bulgarian government is accepting public comment on a draft amendment to the Energy Efficiency Act to align with the EU's Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The amendment adjusts the level of fines under the act as it switches to the euro and folds the Sustainable Development Agency into the Ministry of Energy. The deadline to respond is 11 September 2026. (Council of Ministers)

Czechia 🇨🇿

(Neutral): The Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) opened public consultation on a draft decision that would set the compensation paid to mandatory purchasers and the fees the electricity market operator charges on accounts for guarantees of origin. The proposal would decrease guarantee-of-origin issuance and transfer prices and increase the account maintenance fee to account for inflation since 2016. The deadline to respond is 16 September 2026. (ERU)

Denmark 🇩🇰

(+): The Danish Energy Agency is accepting public comment on six draft executive orders, one of which will replace the country's first-come-first-served interconnection queue system with four priority categories, which include energy storage and data centres. The deadline to respond is 22 September 2026. (Høringsportalen)

(Neutral): The Danish Energy Agency is holding a public hearing on the demand, generation, and cost assumptions underpinning Energinet's biennial Long-Term Development Plan. These assumptions will shape the amount of demand and generation that Energinet plans to meet with additional transmission capacity. This will directly impact a project developer's timeline and cost exposure for future grid connections. There will be a meeting on 23 September 2026 and the deadline for written responses is 30 October 2026. (Høringsportalen)

Finland 🇫🇮

(Neutral): The Ministry of Employment and the Economy put out for public comment four regulations under the country's new Nuclear Energy Act. They concern material surveillance, waste management, and explosives manufacturing. The deadline to respond is 12 October 2026 and the regulations will take effect alongside the new law on 1 January 2027. (Tem.Fi)

France 🇫🇷

(Neutral): The French government issued a call for projects that address the environmental impact of data centres. The deadline for the first round of applications is 29 October 2026. (Ministry of Ecological Transition)

Germany 🇩🇪

(Neutral): The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) will take consultation on a final draft regulation to reform the General Network Charges System for Electricity. The new regulation aims to address how the energy system has changed as more renewables have come online while addressing the distribution of grid and congestion management costs. This rule would directly affect long-run grid connection costs for new generation and storage projects. The deadline to respond is 18 September 2026. (BNetzA)

(Neutral): BNetzA is accepting public comment on a draft scenario framework for the electricity system from 2027 to 2040. This framework sets demand-and-supply assumptions that undergird Germany's grid development plans. The deadline to respond is 28 September 2026. (BNetzA)

Ireland 🇮🇪

(-): The Department of Climate, Energy, and the Environment is soliciting comments on how to apply Article 26 of the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act to future offshore wind auctions under Ireland's Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS). Under Article 26, all auctions within renewable energy support schemes must include non-price criteria as a condition to participate, but ORESS currently uses a price-only mechanism. Non-price criteria under Article 26 include sustainability, resilience, and cybersecurity, which would make supply chain decisions commercially relevant for support under the updated scheme. The deadline to respond is 9 October 2026. (Gov.IE)

Netherlands 🇳🇱

(Neutral): The Authority for Consumers and Markets is accepting public comments on a draft amendment to the electricity system's method for calculating collateral that BRPs must provide to TenneT. A higher collateral cost for operating as a BRP would increase working capital costs. The deadline to respond is 6 October 2026. (Officiële Bekendmakingen)

Poland 🇵🇱

(Neutral): Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) is accepting consultation on proposed changes to Poland's Transmission Grid Code, which govern how the central energy market data exchange system is operated. Any change to these rules would alter how generators and BRPs exchange metering and settlement data. The deadline to respond is 4 September 2026. (PSE)

Romania 🇷🇴

(+): ANRE is seeking public comment on a draft procedure that outlines how a financial guarantee required under ANRE's licensing regulation must be structured and executed. Entities applying for or holding a license for electricity generation, supply, or trading are subject to this rule, impacting these projects' capital requirements. However, the draft would carve contract-for-difference projects and co-located storage projects out of this requirement. The deadline to respond is 23 September 2026. (ANRE)

Spain 🇪🇸

Neutral: The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is seeking feedback on a draft Royal Decree to regulate electricity production and dispatch in non-peninsular territories. The deadline to respond is 4 September 2026. (MITECO)

(+): MITECO is taking public comments on a proposed Order to develop a Renewable Fuels Certification System and a renewable electricity credit mechanism. The deadline to respond is 15 September 2026. (MITECO)

Sweden 🇸🇪

(Neutral): The Energy Market Inspectorate (Ei) sent a survey to Swedish grid companies to collect data to inform new standard values for grid connection charges for projects with a fuse rating up to 25 amperes. This would replace the current case-by-case methodology for establishing "reasonable" charges. The companies must respond by 25 September 2026. (Ei)

Switzerland 🇨🇭

(+): The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) opened a cantonal hearing and public comment process on the federal government's spatial planning instrument, which determines onshore wind siting decisions. The goal is to create greater certainty for planning authorities and project developers to increase the likelihood of wind projects getting built. The deadline to respond is 31 October 2026. (Federal Office of Energy)

United Kingdom 🇬🇧

(+): DESNZ is accepting comments on a permitted development right that would allow certain ground investigations for transmission and distribution infrastructure projects to move forward without planning applications. The deadline to respond is 4 September 2026. (Gov.UK)

(-): Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is accepting feedback on proposals to create environmental compensatory measures related to offshore wind. The proposal details how environmental compensation should be administered when offshore wind projects damage protected marine sites. The deadline to respond is 21 September 2026. (DAERA)

(Neutral): The National Energy System Operator (NESO) published its annual Financial Model Consultation, as required by Ofgem. This mechanism impacts transmission charges and the costs British electricity generators pay to connect to the grid. Any change to this model will affect the network costs for renewable energy projects. The deadline to respond is 25 September 2026. (NESO)

(+): Alongside the capacity market rule changes below, DESNZ published an open letter asking for evidence on emerging technologies that do not fit into existing generating technology classes but could contribute to the security of Great Britain's electricity supply. The deadline to respond is 4 October 2026. (Gov.UK)

(Neutral): DESNZ proposed three changes to capacity market rules: enhanced delivery assurance, a more precise derating methodology, and increased transparency to support enforcement. Stricter delivery assurance means all capacity market participants will face a higher compliance threshold, while a change to the derating methodology will impact how much revenue a flexibility asset can earn. The deadline to respond is 27 October 2026. (Gov.UK)

Finland 🇫🇮: Fingrid Electricity Consumption Location Report

Ireland 🇮🇪: Flexibility Needs Assessment · Demand Flexibility Forecast Report