The Utilities – and governments – across Europe are facing increased demands for grid upgrades and connections to reliable and/or renewable capacity. S&P estimates the cost of grid expansion alone at €800 billion between 2023 and 2030 for Europe, and wind capacity growth at €800 billion from 2022-30. Total needs are estimated at €2 trillion up to 2030.

The European regulatory asset base (RAB), a valuation measure of network assets, is expected to show a compound annual growth rate of 7%-8% from 2023-30 versus 3% over 2016-22. Fossil-free capacity is expected to double by 2030. Drivers include the ongoing push for electrification and other tech developments including data centres, with demand from European Data Centres expected to grow by five times by 2035. Although an increase in demand was expected, it is the speed of this growth from new areas that has caught regulators by surprise. For example, Goldman Sachs Research estimates that data centre power demand will grow 160% by 2030. Coincidentally and simultaneously, costs squeezes and constraints in the supply of raw materials and production capacity have limited expected returns in renewables development.

You can now read the full whitepaper at the link below