ENTSO-ETo support the Clean Industrial Deal, and ensure large-scale integration of new components with necessary immunity and system-supportive behaviour, TSOs are recommended to take action to update national technical connection requirements as soon as possible to support EU-wide power system stability needs identified by ACER, the Grid Connection European Stakeholder Committee, and the EC (European Commission)-organized “roundtable discussions on sustainable integration of data centres in the energy system”. National requirements should be updated following the latest available technical discussions.
Why is updating connection requirements critical for Europe’s green transition?
Europe is accelerating its green transition, but insufficient or outdated technical rules for connecting assets to the grid can pose a risk to EU’s power system stability.
What’s at stake?
Without regulatory updates, key technologies - such as storage systems, EVs, heat pumps, power-to-gas, and grid forming converters - remain outside the current framework, contributing to increase operational and cross-border risks. For instance, requirements for these technologies are being integrated into national connection codes, while a harmonized European framework should ensure a level playing field in the EU market.
What’s happening at policy level?
The EU is preparing amendments to the Connection Network Codes (CNC 2.0) to make grids more robust and future-proof. Timely adoption is essential.
Why act now?
To avoid costly retrofits and support large-scale integration of the new and modernized components of the energy mix.
What is ENTSO-E recommending?
Until EU regulations with amended connection requirements are adopted and implemented at the national level, ENTSO-E recommends TSOs to take actions at the national level as soon as possible:
- To update national technical connection requirements based on the latest technical discussions on the needed requirements to mitigate EU power system stability risks.
- To refer to a minimum set of common connection requirements for data centres as basis for stakeholders’ engagement and national use.
ENTSO-E Position Paper available here.