SolarPower Europe publishes new recommendations on energy flexibility

Brussels, BELGIUM (13 November 2025): Today, SolarPower Europe releases a flagship publication ‘Flexibility: Strengthening the Grid with Battery Storage and Demand Response’ alongside hosting a dedicated Flexibility Strategy Day, bringing together EU policymakers, regulators, system operators, and industry leaders in solar and storage. The position paper and the event come at a crucial moment for Europe’s energy transition.

The message is clear: Europe must dramatically scale up energy system flexibility to meet its energy security, competitiveness and climate goals. With electricity demand expected to rise by 50% by 2030, flexibility is now essential to integrate rapidly growing renewable generation into the system, prevent congestion and curtailment, and balance variations in supply and demand.

Flexible solutions can deliver major benefits for Europe by 2030, including lowering electricity prices by up to 25%*, saving around €130 billion in avoided fossil fuel imports, and preventing 151 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.

Yet the EU lacks a coordinated strategy to unlock this flexibility potential. The new recommendations set out a clear path to achieve this, centered on three main pillars:

1. Take a flexibility-first approach to grid development
2. Unlock the full potential of demand response
3. Embrace the opportunity of battery storage to multiply EU battery storage capacity x10 by 2030
 

Dries Acke, Deputy CEO of SolarPower Europe (he/him), said: “It is clear to all that flexibility is the central challenge for Europe’s energy system. To integrate more renewables, protect consumers from price volatility and make the best use of our grids, Europe must plan and invest with flexibility in mind, scaling demand response, and embracing the game-changing opportunity of low cost and high performing battery storage. What we need now is comprehensive, forward-looking action on flexibility from policymakers.”

Catarina Augusto, Head of System Integration at SolarPower Europe and Lead Author (she/her) added: “Europe needs a coherent roadmap to integrate flexibility everywhere. Unlocking demand response means giving all consumers, households, businesses, and industry fair access to energy markets, so they can actively participate and be rewarded for their flexibility. Alongside scaling battery storage, these steps are essential for delivering the flexibility Europe needs. That is why we are calling for an EU Flexibility Strategy, supported by a Battery Storage Action Plan, so policymakers can act now to future-proof our energy system.”
 

Notes:
 

• Today’s event and publication build on SolarPower Europe’s broader effort to put energy flexibility at the center of the EU energy transition. Since 2024, SolarPower Europe has been running the Let's Flex campaign to put flexibility on top of the EU energy policy agenda. In July, this work was expanded by the launch of the Battery Energy Storage Platform (BSEP), advocating for a tenfold increase of battery storage by 2030. Today, SolarPower Europe also unveiled the BSEP LinkedIn page to amplify this work.

• The position paper ‘Flexibility: Strengthening the Grid with Battery Storage and Demand Response’ outlines key actions for EU and national policymakers to scale up flexibility through grid planning, demand response, and storage.
   
• The Flexibility Strategy Day is organised by SolarPower Europe to discuss the future of flexibility in Europe’s energy system with key actors from EU policymakers, regulators, system operators, and industry leaders in solar and storage.

• The Battery Energy Storage Platform (BSEP) is a  SolarPower Europe initiative launched in July 2025 to accelerate battery deployment and investment in Europe. Follow the new BSEP LinkedIn page for updates.
   

* On average European day-ahead electricity price in 2030 compared to 2023 (Source: Mission Solar 2040, SolarPower Europe)

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