Hungary on the road to renewables

04. 06. 2024.

The production and use of electricity is of paramount importance for modern societies and economies. Energy demand in Europe is growing, but this growth is also taking a heavy toll on the environment.  The European Green Deal was created to decarbonize the EU energy system so that Member States can meet their 2030 climate targets and make Europe the first continent to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Hungary is also participating in these efforts and has set out its commitments in the National Energy and Climate Plan submitted in 2019 and adopted in 2020. On this basis, Hungary aims to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity consumption to at least 21%, mainly through solar capacity expansion, with a target of 6,500 MW by 2030 and close to 12,000 MW by 2040. The objective is also to install 200,000 small household-scale power plants. Wind (currently 330 MW) and hydropower capacity can be expanded to a lesser extent, but these are also part of the final target.

In 2022, the share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources and waste was 15.3%, in 2023 it increased further to 20%. Despite earlier expectations, the number of small household-scale power plants exceeded the target in 2023, with more than 255,000 small-scale plants operating in Hungary with an installed capacity of over 2,300 MW, accounting for more than 40% of the total domestic solar capacity, which is also over 5,600 MW.

Figure 1: Evolution of the number of PV generators below 50 kW between 2010 and 2023
Source: MAVIR

Last year, the EU revised its climate policy targets and set new goals. They want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, up from 32% renewable energy to 42.5%, so Hungary’s commitments have also increased, with the target for domestic renewable energy production now set at 29%.

Grid operators and system operators must also keep pace with the uptake of renewables and capacity expansion. Investment in energy storage is needed to ensure security of supply. Under the Solar Plus Programme, launched this year, eligible households can receive support for the purchase of battery energy storage.

Solar power capacity could reach double the original target of 12,000 MW by 2030. A legislative amendment at the end of last year has reintroduced the possibility to build wind turbines, which could triple wind capacity to 1000 MW.

Figure 2: Energy mix – gross installed capacity by primary source 2015-2024
Source: MAVIR