European Commission published the Grids Package, addressing critical bottlenecks in grid connections, permitting, and infrastructure planning. These issues have hampered energy storage deployment and slowed the EU's decarbonisation and affordability ambitions.
12.12.2025 / News
Wins for Energy Storage in the EU Grids Package
The European Commission's publication of the European Grids Package marks a major win for the energy storage sector. Energy storage is finally recognised as a unique and grid-friendly technological asset in the renewable energy sector. This will help developers to deploy projects and connect to the grid faster without unjustified economic barriers.
On Energy Storage Operators. The Guidance on Grid Connections recommends that “grid operators establish national cooperation” with “storage operators.” This explicit reference marks an important milestone: storage operators are now formally acknowledged as a distinct user group in an official EU grid document. This recognition opens the door to a clearer differentiation between storage operators, consumers and generators in future EU legislative frameworks.
Such differentiation is essential for developing cost-reflective taxation and grid-charging structures. Today, double-charging and disproportionate grid fees undermine project viability across Europe, and the Energy Storage Europe Association has long called for a modernised tariff design that reflects storage’s unique role in the system.
On Energy Storage as Grid-friendly Asset. The concept of grid-friendly uses also features prominently in the Guidance. The document notes that, when evaluating grid connection requests, Member States may give priority to grid-friendly uses (e.g. storage). Furthermore, it explicitly identifies co-located storage as a grid-friendly solution, highlighting its ability to alleviate congestion and support network efficiency. Recognising both stand-alone and co-located storage as grid-friendly is a crucial step forward for the sector’s strategic positioning with regards to grid connections in the European energy system.
On Overriding Public Interest. In parallel, the Directive on Accelerating Permitting introduces major improvements for storage deployment. Stand-alone electricity storage projects above 100 kW (excluding hydrogen) will now face a maximum permitting duration of six months, while pumped hydropower storage is subject to a maximum of two years. Importantly, the Directive establishes that storage assets benefit from a legal presumption of overriding public interest until climate neutrality is reached. This status strengthens legal certainty, reduces administrative barriers, and ensures that permit-granting focuses on the essential step—the grid connection request—rather than unrelated assessments.
Together, these measures represent significant progress for Europe’s energy storage community. After years of advocacy for clearer regulatory recognition, fairer grid charges and faster permitting and grid connection, the Commission has taken meaningful steps toward a modern, flexible and storage-ready energy system.
European Commission published the Grids Package, addressing critical bottlenecks in grid connections, permitting, and infrastructure planning. These issues have hampered energy storage deployment and slowed the EU's decarbonisation and affordability ambitions.
In this position paper, the Energy Storage Europe Association calls for a shift from today’s “first-come, first-served” queue system to a more efficient, strategic, and transparent framework that recognises the unique value of energy storage for reducing congestion, enhancing flexibility, and making better use of existing grid infrastructure.
Energy Storage Europe Association has published its Position Paper on Improving Permitting Procedures, highlighting the urgent need to streamline, harmonise, and modernise permitting frameworks for energy storage across the EU. Europe needs a fast, fair, and future-proof permitting framework to unlock the estimated 200 GW of energy storage required by 2030.
Energy Storage Europe Association responds to the European Commission’s Public Consultations on the Electrification Action Plan and the Heating and Cooling Strategy, highlighting the need for stronger recognition of storage as a central enabler of electrification and heating decarbonisation. This requires clearer policies to integrate storage into planning and investment pathways, along with measures to remove persistent barriers such as high upfront costs, slow permitting, unfavourable taxation, and weak market signals. Storage should be treated as a default element of a cost-effective, system-friendly transition and reflected accordingly in planning frameworks, financing tools, and flexibility market design.
The 9.5 edition of the European Market Monitor on Energy Storage (EMMES) by the Energy Storage Europe Association and LCP Delta, is now available. The EU, UK, Norway, and Switzerland together are expected to reach 100 GW of installed energy storage in November 2025. This milestone represents enough capacity to meet the peak electricity demand of Germany and the Netherlands. With storage capacity forecast to grow by a further 115% by 2030, this will play a crucial role in Europe’s energy transition, creating more space for renewables on the grid.
