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Last Update: 08/01/2026 at 2:00 PM EST
Europe Expands Battery Storage, Faces Grid Delays
Coverage from The Guardian, Yahoo, and others
Articles
29
Active Days
132
The Topic
European utilities, investors, and battery companies are expanding grid-scale storage as wind and solar generation create larger timing gaps, surplus periods, and evening supply shortfalls. Planned storage is growing rapidly, but connection queues, aging distribution networks, permitting delays, and limited project transparency are holding back hundreds of gigawatts of potential capacity. The region’s battery industry is also shifting toward stationary storage as electric-vehicle manufacturing faces weaker demand and stronger Asian competition.
First Article: 03/19/26
Latest Article: 07/28/26
Summary
- European storage projects are expanding as wind and solar increasingly produce power when demand is low and leave evening supply gaps.
- Distribution-grid queues are reported to constrain about 455 GW of battery storage and 375 GW of renewable capacity across eight European markets.
- Germany and the UK have among the largest reported storage backlogs, each exceeding 100 GW.
- Battery investment is shifting toward stationary grid storage as several European EV-battery manufacturing projects are delayed or fail.
- Turkey has approved more than 33 GW of battery capacity under a policy linking storage with preferential renewable-grid access.
- Hydropower, wind, and solar together recently produced unusually high shares of Turkey’s electricity, although the result was partly supported by strong rainfall.
- Progress depends on faster grid expansion, clearer connection processes, permitting reform, and access to battery materials and recycling.
History
The story now puts more emphasis on a broader European pivot from EV-oriented battery manufacturing toward stationary grid storage, while also adding Turkey’s recent electricity mix as supporting context for its storage push. The core grid-constraint story remains intact, but the framing has shifted from policy uncertainty to industrial reallocation and system flexibility.
The story has broadened from Turkey and Cyprus to a Europe-wide storage buildout, with the main constraint now framed as grid-connection and permitting bottlenecks rather than local system design alone. It also adds a new policy-sensitive angle: UK EV-rule uncertainty is now affecting adjacent clean-energy investment expectations.
Featured
04-08-2026
Ember reports that Turkey approved more than 33GW of battery storage since 2022 to buffer wind and solar growth under a renewables-plus-storage grid access mandate.
06-15-2026
In the UK, proposed dilution of the ZEV mandate would cut the 2030 pure EV sales target from 80% to 50%, triggering opposition from charging operators and Polestar.
07-02-2026
Turkey used EPİAŞ data to report May renewables above 72% and coal at a multi-decade low, driven by high hydro, wind, and solar output.
Timeline: 132 Days
Hover over any logo to see coverage summary, click for full article.
Additional Articles
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European grid operators and policymakers in Germany and Europe expand battery storage projects to store wind and solar power and reduce evening reliance on natural gas.
UK analysis estimates battery EVs and plug-in vehicles save drivers over GBP 1,100 per year and avoid millions of tonnes of CO2e while a zero-emissions vehicle mandate faces potential weakening.
Cyprus in 2025 faced escalating solar curtailment and high EU ETS costs because the isolated grid cannot absorb midday surplus, prompting expansion of co-located battery storage.
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European investors increased battery energy storage funding in 2023-2024 as EU wind and solar expansion drove price volatility and negative pricing.
AFRY, for Beyond Fossil Fuels, reports distribution grid connection queues block 455 GW of battery storage and 375 GW of renewables across eight European markets.
Ember reports that Türkiye's 2022 battery-pairing rule for wind and solar created a record storage pipeline by 2025 while coal remained the largest power source.
Ember reported in 2025 that Türkiye’s renewable-plus-battery mandate since 2022 scaled storage pipelines while coal remained a significant electricity source ahead of COP31.
Ember data shows Türkiye mandated battery storage with wind and solar since 2022, generating a major storage pipeline and raising renewables ahead of COP31.
Turkey saw May renewables supply 72.3% of electricity and coal drop to 17%, driven by rainfall boosted hydropower and rising wind and solar, based on EPİAŞ data.
Battery energy storage expansion in Germany and across the EU targets price-stable renewable electricity, but grid modernization limits current integration pace.
Ben Backwell said Türkiye reached 2.1 GW annual wind installations and could function as a Europe-Asia green electricity corridor, with grid infrastructure bottlenecks remaining a constraint.
BloombergNEF reported Türkiye added 8.5 GW of wind and solar in 2025 and forecasts large 2035 capacity growth supported by YEKA auctions.
Cyprus agreed in June to deploy 120 MW centralized battery storage, supplied with AI dispatch control, targeting summer 2027 operation to reduce solar curtailments.
Morrow Batteries in Norway filed for bankruptcy in 2025 after liquidity and early industrialization capital constraints, amplifying investor concerns for European battery supply.
BloombergNEF’s 2026 Turkey Transition Factbook reports Turkey must accelerate renewables, transmission, storage, and carbon-market measures to cut emissions toward net-zero by mid-century.
EPİAŞ data shows Turkey in May increased renewable electricity to 72.3 percent of generation while coal fell to 17 percent, with hydropower leading growth.
Transport and Environment, with Fraunhofer ISI, warns EU EV target rollbacks could reduce V2G storage and increase wind and solar curtailment by 2040.
Turkey increased installed electricity capacity to 125,410 MW by end of April, with solar and wind growth lifting renewables to 62.5%.
Eurelectric and AFRY report estimates long-duration energy storage can cut curtailment and congestion while providing 150 to 250 million euros annual cost savings per GW across European power markets.
Octopus CEO Greg Jackson said a planned UK rollback of ZEV mandate targets would weaken investor certainty and slow EV and charging investment.
Türkiye approved 33GW of battery projects after a 2022 rule requiring storage for new renewables, with 221GW applications submitted within months as wind and solar expansion targets 2035 goals.
Ofgem advanced 16 long-duration energy storage projects in the UK into streamlined consenting, targeting lower balancing costs and potential household bill savings by 2030.
Turkey is preparing for COP31 in Antalya and is accelerating battery storage policy after a 2022 rule required renewables to add batteries for grid access.
Turkey plans $80 billion renewable energy investment through 2035, with minister Alparslan Bayraktar citing Yeka-based solar and wind tenders and capacity targets.
UK policymakers are reportedly debating relaxation of the ZEV Mandate as EV adoption and transport decarbonization impacts on emissions and industry outcomes are discussed.
Kalghatgi assesses UK transport decarbonization and argues EV and 2035 internal-combustion bans depend on full life-cycle CO2, battery supply-chain impacts, and electricity carbon intensity.