Over 1 TW of renewables awaiting approval in Europe
- Özcan Berk Atakan
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Aurora Energy Research’s latest report says Europe requires €600 billion ($700.2 billion) of investment by the end of the decade, increasing to €1.5 trillion by the middle of the century, to support the expansion of the continent’s renewable energy.
More than 1 TW of renewable capacity is currently awaiting grid connection across Europe, according to analysis by Aurora Energy Research.
The global power markets analytics provider says permitting times are stretching up to a decade in some European markets, contributing to the growing pipeline. From the 1 TW of projects awaiting approval, Italy accounts for roughly 370 GW.
The finding forms part of the second edition of Aurora’s European Renewables Market Overview Report, which adds that Europe needs around €1.5 trillion in cumulative investment by 2050 to support the expansion of renewable energy, which is expected to more than triple between now and the middle of the century.
The report adds that nearly €600 billion of investment will be required by the end of this decade. It predicts subsidies and power purchase agreements (PPA) will remain the dominant routes to market in the near term but notes that their attractiveness varies by country and technology.
Jörn Richstein, Aurora’s Research Lead on Pan European Power Markets, Policies & Technologies explained that PPAs are playing an increasingly central role in Europe’s renewables growth, particularly in countries without viable subsidy schemes, or in those fuelled by rising corporate demand. “Innovative and flexible PPA contracts will be key to meeting the evolving needs of both corporate offtakers and energy producers,” Richstein predicted.
Aurora’s report expects two-sided contracts for difference to remain the primary support mechanism across most European markets, with 162 GW of renewables capacity already announced for auction procurement by 2030, but warns the success of these auctions hinges on design, competition levels and policy certainty.
The research highlights negative power prices, grid congestion and permitting delays as key risks to Europe’s investment in renewables.
Negative power prices in 2025 exceeded 2024 levels in most European markets, Aurora’s research found, and coincided with some markets scaling back subsidy protections against negative prices. Aurora is predicting negative pricing to ease after 2035 as electricity demand rises, system flexibility improves and price-insensitive subsidies are phased out.
Growing curtailment levels is singled out as another issue, with Aurora expecting technical curtailment to rise to almost 22 TWh across Great Britain, Spain and Italy alone by 2030, compared to 10 TWh across Europe last year.
Sameer Hussain, research senior analyst at Aurora Energy Research, explained that record levels of negative pricing and increasing curtailment are putting significant pressure on the profitability of renewables in Europe. “To protect returns in this more unpredictable landscape, developers need to adapt – by investing in technological innovation, diversifying their portfolios, and integrating battery energy storage solutions,” Hussain added. #RenewableEnergy
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