Grid bottlenecks could significantly delay the transition to cleaner home energy for millions of Europeans, particularly affecting the rollout of rooftop solar panels. According to the authors of the newly released report, while many local networks are currently prepared for new demand like electric vehicles, roughly 1.5 million households still face potential delays in connecting renewable energy systems to the power grid.
“1.5 million households could face grid connection delays for rooftop solar. Half of reporting countries have insufficient grid capacity to accommodate the expected growth in small-scale solar.”
This means that in many parts of Europe, the local electrical wires and substations that deliver power to our homes are not yet equipped to handle all the new solar panels residents want to install. If these local networks are not upgraded, families hoping to generate their own clean electricity might be forced to wait a long time before they are allowed to plug their systems into the national supply. While most countries can currently handle new devices like electric car chargers, some regions are already hitting limits that could prevent people from switching away from traditional heating and fuel.
The report “Crossed wires: Grid capacity could block EU energy security” was published by the energy think tank Ember on 1 April 2026. It was prepared by a research team led by Senior Energy Analyst Elisabeth Cremona.
