TenneT has announced an increase in its grid investment to €4.6bn in the first half (H1) of 2024 due to higher spending on its 2GW offshore wind programme.  

The company increased its investment by €1.1bn from €3.5bn in the same period last year.  

One of Europe’s largest transmission system operators (TSOs), TenneT said it advanced the speed of its projects to provide sufficient grid capacity for its customers and prepare the grid for a cleaner energy system.

The TSO said increased investment in its fixed assets allowed it to maintain a high degree of grid availability in H1 2024.  

TenneT is planning significant onshore and offshore grid expansion across Germany and the Netherlands by 2045.  

Manon van Beek, chief executive of TenneT, said to reNews: "In order to achieve the climate milestones in 2030, 2045 and 2050 and to be able to meet the needs of our customers, we are fully promoting the electrification of industry, businesses, households, hospitals and public transport by providing new infrastructure.  

“As planned, we will further increase our investments in the expansion and maintenance of the electricity grid on land and at sea in 2024.” 

According to Eurelectric’s latest report entitled Grids for Speed, Europe needs to increase investment in its electricity grids to €67bn annually between 2025 and 2050 to accommodate for the transition to electrification and increased renewables capacity. By 2050, the European energy landscape expects electricity to account for 60% of the region’s final energy consumption, up from the current 23%, and renewables to rise sixfold from current levels. 

Van Beek added: “Not investing in the electricity grid is not an option, because the social and economic price of grid bottlenecks, redispatch costs and lack of access to electricity is much higher than the grid investments required." 

If Europe does not reach the €67bn needed to develop an efficient and clean electricity grid, 74% of potential connections for crucial decarbonisation technologies will be put at risk, according to the Grids for Speed report.