Transparent Grids for All Grid(un)lock: Hosting Capacity Maps

The report addresses the barrier of limited grid capacity in Europe's energy transition, proposing the use of hosting capacity maps to help developers of renewables, electrolysers, and data centres select optimal connection locations. It notes that while EU legislation now mandates these maps for TSOs and DSOs, there is a lack of specificity in their design. The authors provide a framework for an "ideal" map, recommending substation-level granularity, open-source data access, and the inclusion of planned grid investments to improve network efficiency and investment speed.

• Lack of grid capacity and inefficient connection procedures are creating long queues that risk delaying Europe's energy transition.
• Revised EU electricity market legislation now mandates that TSOs and DSOs publish high-granularity information on available connection capacity, with updates required at least monthly for TSOs and quarterly for DSOs.
• The EU Grid Action Plan tasks ENTSO-E and the EU DSO Entity with harmonising definitions of hosting capacity and establishing a pan-EU overview of available capacities by mid-2025.
• An "ideal" hosting capacity map should feature substation-level granularity, cover the operator's entire territory, be provided as open-source data, and include transparent assumptions regarding planned grid upgrades and investments.
• Existing hosting capacity maps in Europe vary significantly in scope; for example, the Danish national map covers generation and consumption, while the Czech DSO EG.D provides information for PV only.

APA

Pató, Z., Cremona, E., & Rosslowe, C. (2024). Transparent Grids for All Grid(un)lock: Hosting Capacity Maps. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/07/Ember-Hosting-capacity-maps-pdf.pdf

Chicago

Pató, Zsuzsanna, Elisabeth Cremona, and Chris Rosslowe. Transparent Grids for All Grid(un)lock: Hosting Capacity Maps. Ember, 2024. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/07/Ember-Hosting-capacity-maps-pdf.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pató |first1=Zsuzsanna |last2=Cremona |first2=Elisabeth |last3=Rosslowe |first3=Chris |title=Transparent Grids for All Grid(un)lock: Hosting Capacity Maps |publisher=Ember |date=24 July 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/07/Ember-Hosting-capacity-maps-pdf.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pat2024transparent, author = {Pató, Zsuzsanna and Cremona, Elisabeth and Rosslowe, Chris}, title = {{Transparent Grids for All Grid(un)lock: Hosting Capacity Maps}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/07/Ember-Hosting-capacity-maps-pdf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }