For years, Europe’s energy transition was framed primarily as a climate issue. The focus was on reducing emissions, expanding renewable generation and accelerating the move away from fossil fuels. Those priorities remain essential, but recent geopolitical and economic events have fundamentally changed the conversation. Here Henrik Stiesdal, a leading voice in wind energy and keynote speaker at CWIEME Berlin 2026, explains why energy security is now a much more pressing issue. 

The war in Ukraine exposed the risks of Europe’s dependence on imported oil and gas. More recently, growing instability in global trade relationships has further highlighted the vulnerability that comes with relying on external energy sources. 

The challenge Europe faces now is clear: how do we build an energy system that is not only clean, but also resilient, affordable and independent?

Fortunately, those goals are no longer in conflict with one another. Renewable energy offers Europe the opportunity to strengthen energy security while reducing costs and accelerating decarbonisation at the same time. Wind and solar are now among the cheapest forms of electricity generation available, while also reducing dependence on imported fuels.

But while Europe has made enormous progress in renewable generation, a more difficult question is now emerging: can our electricity systems actually cope with the scale and variability of the transition underway?

A new challenge

Europe’s energy networks were built around a relatively predictable model. Large, centralised power stations generated electricity continuously, while consumers drew power whenever they needed it. The system was designed to accommodate demand at all times, with generation adjusting to match. However, renewables change that completely.

Solar generation rises and falls with daylight. Wind generation fluctuates with weather conditions. Meanwhile, electricity demand patterns remain relatively fixed. The result is a growing mismatch between how electricity is produced and how it is consumed. 

This mismatch is already placing great pressure on transmission and distribution systems across Europe. Renewable developers, data centres, industrial electrification projects and battery storage operators are all competing for grid access at unprecedented scale.

Denmark offers a striking example of what this looks like in practice. The country’s peak electricity demand is around seven gigawatts, yet grid connection requests now exceed 60 gigawatts. In March 2025, the figure had grown to the point that Energinet, the Danish transmission system operator, paused all new grid connection agreements for three months while it worked out how to prioritise the queue. Denmark is just one case, but the underlying issue is becoming increasingly common across Europe, electricity demand and generation are growing far faster than grid infrastructure can expand.

More infrastructure isn’t enough

The instinctive response is to build more infrastructure. More cables, more substations, more transmission lines. Some expansion is clearly necessary. But relying solely on grid buildout risks creating an enormously expensive and inefficient system.

A more intelligent solution lies in using existing infrastructure more effectively. One of the most important concepts in modern energy systems is capacity factor, i.e., how fully the grid is utilised over time. A transmission line connected to a solar installation may only operate near full capacity for a limited portion of the day. The infrastructure exists, but much of its potential remains unused.

By combining renewable generation with storage and flexible demand, that utilisation can increase dramatically. A solar installation paired with batteries, for example, can continue supplying electricity long after peak sunlight hours have passed, smoothing demand on the grid and reducing the need for additional infrastructure investment.

A more flexible energy system

The future energy system cannot rely solely on generators adapting to demand. Consumers must also become active participants in balancing the grid. That doesn’t necessarily mean disruption or inconvenience. 

In many cases, flexibility can be introduced almost invisibly through automation, pricing structures and smarter energy management.

Hidden capacity

Across Europe, millions of electric vehicle (EV) batteries are gradually becoming connected to the grid. Individually, they are small assets. Collectively, they represent an enormous source of flexible storage capacity.

Again, Denmark illustrates the scale of the opportunity. The country already has more than one million EVs on the road. Connected through standard 11 kW chargers, those vehicles together represent more controllable power than the nation’s entire peak electricity demand. 

The remarkable thing is not that this technology exists. It is that most energy systems still operate as though it doesn’t.

The same principle applies across industry and infrastructure. Refrigerated warehouses can temporarily reduce compressor use without affecting stored goods. Industrial facilities can shift certain processes to periods of lower demand. Data centres can participate in flexible load balancing. Entire industrial clusters can coordinate consumption internally and present a more stable demand profile to grid operators.

What matters is not simply generating more renewable electricity but learning to align consumption more intelligently with periods of renewable availability.

A cultural shift

Much of the technology required to make this possible already exists. Battery costs have fallen dramatically over the past decade, transforming the economics of storage. Smart charging systems, digital controls and grid management software are all advancing too. The bigger obstacle is often mindset.

For decades, the electricity industry has operated on the assumption that consumers should be able to access unlimited power at any moment, while generators carry the responsibility for meeting demand. That logic made sense in a fossil fuel-based system built around controllable generation. But a renewable system requires a more dynamic relationship between supply and demand.

This creates an opportunity not just for technical innovation, but for innovation in business models, market structures and regulation. Grid tariffs could reward flexibility instead of simply charging for access. Consumers willing to adapt demand patterns could benefit financially. 

Battery operators could be incentivised specifically for balancing fluctuations in renewable supply. Renewable generators themselves could become active participants in stabilising the grid through storage partnerships and hybrid systems. In other words, the future grid is not just about hardware, it’s about coordination.

That is why the next phase of Europe’s energy transition will depend as much on system thinking as on generation capacity itself. The technologies needed for a resilient, affordable and decarbonised energy system do exist. The challenge is integrating them intelligently.

These challenges, and the innovations emerging to solve them, were central themes throughout CWIEME Berlin 2026, and will be central to the Grid Delivery Summit, a new event that will be co-located with CWIEME Berlin in 2027. 

Because ultimately, the success of the energy transition will depend not only on how much renewable electricity Europe can generate, but on how intelligently the industry works together to integrate, manage and use it.

Yazar

Prof. Henrik Stiesdal
Rüzgâr Enerjisi Öncüsü