A new report from Ember, an independent energy think tank, indicates that European nations could significantly expand renewable energy capacity by leveraging existing electrical infrastructure at hydropower facilities. The analysis found that seven major EU hydropower markets—Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Spain—could integrate an estimated 25 gigawatts of wind and solar generation without requiring additional grid connection capacity.
Hybridisation, a strategy that combines multiple renewable technologies such as wind, solar, and storage systems at a single grid connection point, represents an underutilized approach to maximizing existing infrastructure. Hydropower plants are particularly suited for this approach because they typically operate with excess grid capacity during daylight hours when solar generation peaks or at other times when wind resources fluctuate.
According to the Ember analysis, this approach could enable developers to connect to the grid more rapidly while grid operators achieve approximately double the average utilisation rate of existing infrastructure, all while maintaining compliance with established export restrictions. The seven markets examined represent the EU’s primary hydropower regions, and the potential applications there could accommodate roughly 18 percent of the new renewable capacity expected to come online by 2030.
A significant barrier to widespread adoption remains regulatory inconsistency across the region. Currently, only Portugal and Spain have established specific frameworks governing hybrid renewable projects, while the remaining five countries lack clearly defined legislative guidelines. This patchwork of regulations exists even as EU governments face mounting pressure to accelerate renewable energy deployment and decrease dependence on imported fossil fuel sources. Ember’s analysis suggests that harmonized national legislation combined with expedited processing for hybrid projects could help remove these deployment obstacles and improve utilisation of current grid assets.
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