POWER
Europe’s renewables milestone reveals a hidden challenge: How engineering solutions can help capture more value from
variable generation Europe has reached a defining moment in its clean energy transition. Wind and solar are now supplying more electricity than fossil fuels, showing that renewable generation is growing faster than ever. By Mike Torbitt, managing director, Cressall
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espite this milestone, integrating all this power is not straightforward. In 2025, wind and solar provided about 30 per cent of the EU’s electricity, surpassing fossil fuels for the first time. At the same time, Germany, France and the Netherlands curtailed a record 3.9 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity because the networks could not absorb all of the clean generation.
These figures underline the scale of progress but also highlight the operational challenges that come with rapid renewable deployment. According to the International Energy Agency, “maximising the benefits of high shares of wind and solar requires increasing flexibility across generation, grids, storage and demand to securely integrate variable resources and failing to do so could risk significant renewable output and slow emissions reductions. ” For renewable energy operators, curtailment represents lost revenue, wasted zero-carbon generation and increased pressure on electricity markets during periods of oversupply. Negative wholesale prices are becoming more common when wind and solar generation peaks while electricity demand remains subdued, highlighting the need to address this disconnect if Europe’s renewables are to continue driving decarbonisation without imposing unintended costs on the wider system.
Why curtailment persists despite record generation
The core technical challenge lies in the variable nature of wind and solar power. Unlike conventional thermal plants, which can be ramped up or down in a controlled way, wind
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turbines and solar arrays respond to weather conditions, producing power in pulses that can be difficult to match with demand or grid capacity. During periods of high output and low demand, transmission and distribution networks can become congested, forcing operators to curtail generation to maintain stability.
Part of the challenge is that Europe’s electricity grid was not originally designed for high shares of inverter-based, distributed generation. Many elements of network planning and protection assume large, centralised plants with predictable behaviours. As the energy mix evolves, so too must the tools and practices that balance voltage, frequency and fault resilience. Without adequate system flexibility, curtailment can trigger negative price events and reduce the effective utilisation of investments in wind and
SEPTEMBER 2026 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS
solar infrastructure.
Dynamic braking resistors (DBRs) are used at equipment level to protect renewable energy systems such as wind turbines and converters during transient conditions. By safely dissipating excess energy during events such as sudden load changes or grid disturbances, they help prevent overvoltage and mechanical stress within the asset itself.
Engineering solutions to capture more value
Solving the challenge of integrating high levels of renewable generation requires more than expanding transmission capacity. As inverter- based resources become more prevalent, grid operators must rely on a broader set of electrical engineering solutions to maintain stability, manage fault conditions and ensure power quality across increasingly complex
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