In it together: the road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system

This report by Ember proposes an ambitious wind and solar expansion plan for Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to improve energy security and lower electricity prices. Using the PyPSA-CEE model, the study argues that accelerating renewables deployment could reduce wholesale power prices by 29% and make the region electricity self-sufficient by 2030.

• Accelerating wind and solar deployment in the CEE region could reduce average wholesale electricity prices by 29% compared to current policy trajectories. In an ambitious scenario, prices would average 41 €/MWh, down from 57 €/MWh in the baseline scenario.
• The CEE region has the potential to deploy 196 GW of wind and solar capacity by 2030, representing a six-fold increase from the 35 GW installed in 2022. This total includes 130 GW of solar, 45 GW of onshore wind, and 20 GW of offshore wind.
• Achieving a high-ambition renewables pathway would allow the CEE region to reach a 63% share of renewables in electricity generation by 2030, compared to 25% in 2022. This would shift the region from importing 7.3 TWh of electricity in 2022 to exporting 23.1 TWh in 2030.
• Aligning national renewable strategies with EU climate policy could unlock at least €136 billion in public funding for the CEE energy transition. This funding would come from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (€71.6 billion in grants), the Just Transition Fund (€17 billion), and the Modernization Fund (at least €48 billion).
• Regional collaboration is essential to unlock over 100 GW of offshore wind potential, particularly for landlocked countries like Czechia and Hungary. Current interconnections in the CEE region represent only 13% of the EU’s internal interconnection capacity.
• Grid capacity shortages and restrictive policies are currently hindering renewables deployment. For example, 15 GW of renewable projects were denied grid connection permits in 2021 due to the state of the Polish distribution grid, and Hungary's MAVIR announced no available grid capacity for weather-dependent plants until May 2023.

APA

Czyżak, P., & Fox, H. (2023). In it together: the road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/05/In-it-together_-the-road-to-a-cleaner-cheaper-CEE-power-system-1.pdf

Chicago

Czyżak, Paweł, and Harriet Fox. In it together: the road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system. Ember, 2023. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/05/In-it-together_-the-road-to-a-cleaner-cheaper-CEE-power-system-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Czyżak |first1=Paweł |last2=Fox |first2=Harriet |title=In it together: the road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system |publisher=Ember |date=15 May 2023 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/05/In-it-together_-the-road-to-a-cleaner-cheaper-CEE-power-system-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{czyak2023together, author = {Czyżak, Paweł and Fox, Harriet}, title = {{In it together: the road to a cleaner, cheaper CEE power system}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2023/05/In-it-together_-the-road-to-a-cleaner-cheaper-CEE-power-system-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }