Judicial Review

Greece’s Renewable Energy Market: Accelerating Permits and Unlocking Finance

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Greece is entering an important phase of its renewable energy transition. The opportunity is no longer simply about increasing renewable capacity. The focus is increasingly on how quickly viable projects can move from development and permitting to financing and construction.

Greece’s updated National Energy and Climate Plan sets an ambitious direction for the market, including a target for renewable sources to provide around 82% of domestic electricity generation by 2030.

For developers and investors, however, ambitious targets alone do not deliver projects. Permitting, grid capacity, environmental constraints and the risk of administrative challenge all influence whether a consented project can reach financial close.

Recent reforms seek to address the first of those issues. The question is whether financing structures can evolve alongside them.

Norway’s Data Centre Expansion: Power, Planning and Permit Challenge Risk

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Norway’s abundant renewable electricity, cool climate and political stability have made it an increasingly attractive location for data centre investment.

The latest development is Microsoft’s acquisition of a site at Kvål in Sandnes, part of the Stavanger region, for a proposed 25 MW data centre. The project was announced on 30 June 2026 and is intended to complement Microsoft’s existing Norway East cloud region. The 64-acre site was reportedly acquired for NOK 153.6 million and is already zoned for industrial use.

At first sight, the development appears to demonstrate many of the characteristics investors seek: an established technology operator, a supportive municipality, suitable land and access to Norway’s predominantly renewable electricity system.

However, it also illustrates a wider issue emerging across the Nordic data centre market. Securing land and planning support is only part of the delivery challenge. Access to power, compliance with a developing regulatory framework and the ability to withstand political or legal scrutiny are becoming equally important.

Portugal’s Green Map: Can Renewable Acceleration Areas Deliver Greater Permitting Certainty?

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Portugal has taken an important step towards reshaping the way renewable energy projects are planned and permitted.

On 17 June 2026, the Government opened a public consultation on its proposed “Green Map”, identifying areas considered particularly suitable for new wind and solar development. The proposal includes 1,302 priority areas, comprising 792 areas for solar projects and 510 for wind.

The selected areas are located within 10 kilometres of existing grid connections and have been mapped with the aim of avoiding significant environmental and licensing constraints.

For developers and investors, the attraction is clear. Greater visibility over suitable land, grid proximity and environmental constraints could reduce early-stage uncertainty and shorten the route to consent.

However, acceleration areas do not eliminate legal risk. They change where that risk arises.

Germany’s Planning Reforms: Faster Real Estate Development, New Legal Uncertainty

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Germany’s real estate market entered 2026 with tentative signs of recovery.

After three consecutive annual declines, permits were issued for approximately 238,500 residential units in 2025, an increase of 10.8% compared with 2024. The improvement suggests that the market may be beginning to respond to stabilising conditions, public support and efforts to reduce regulatory barriers.

However, Germany remains well below the level of development required to address its housing shortage. Against this background, the Federal Government is pursuing reforms intended to accelerate, simplify and digitalise the planning system.

The reforms present a significant opportunity for developers and investors. They also raise an important question: does a faster planning system necessarily introduce more legally secure development?

Repowering Europe’s Wind Farms: Greater Output, New Permitting Challenges

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Across Europe, a growing number of wind farms are approaching a critical point in their operational lives. Developers and asset owners must decide whether to extend operations, decommission the site or replace older turbines with modern, more productive technology.

Repowering is increasingly emerging as the preferred option. It can substantially increase generating capacity while making continued use of established sites, grid connections, access routes and operational experience.

However, repowering is not simply a matter of replacing old machinery. Modern turbines are generally taller, more powerful and more visually prominent. Projects can therefore require extensive environmental assessment, renewed planning or energy consents and, in some cases, modifications to grid and transport infrastructure.

For developers, funders and their legal advisers, the central issue is how to capture the considerable benefits of repowering while managing the permitting and challenge risks created by a materially different development.

Renewable Energy and the 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy

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The global energy transition has reached an important stage. Renewable energy is no longer simply supplementing conventional generation. It is becoming the principal source of growth in the world’s energy system.

The Energy Institute’s 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy records that global energy demand exceeded 600 exajoules for the first time in 2025. Renewables made the largest contribution to the increase in total energy supply, the first time this has occurred outside a period of economic recession. Solar accounted for approximately 71% of that renewable growth.

These figures demonstrate the scale of investment flowing into new generation. They also point towards the next major challenge for governments, developers and their legal advisers: delivering the networks, connections, storage and planning approvals required to turn installed capacity into reliable electricity.

New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission: High Court reinforces the high bar for procurement challenges

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The High Court’s decision in New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission [2026] EWHC 891 (TCC) provides an important reminder of the evidential and legal burden facing claimants in complex procurement disputes.
The case arose from the award of the fourth UK National Lottery Licence to Allwyn. The incumbent operator’s bid vehicle, New Lottery Company, challenged the procurement process, including the evaluation and scoring of bids, as well as subsequent modifications made to the licence after award. Damages of up to £1.3 billion were reportedly sought.
The Court dismissed the claims in their entirety.
For lawyers, public bodies, developers, investors and other stakeholders involved in regulated procurement processes, the judgment is significant. It reinforces the Court’s reluctance to interfere with complex procurement evaluations unless there is a clear legal basis to do so. It also highlights the commercial impact that procurement challenges can have, even where they ultimately fail.

Spain’s Energy Transition: Progress, Pressure and System Risk

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Spain has emerged as one of Europe’s leading renewable energy markets. Rapid deployment of solar and wind generation, combined with reduced exposure to imported gas, has positioned the country as a central case study in the European energy transition.

For policymakers, investors and infrastructure participants, Spain has increasingly been viewed as evidence that decarbonisation and energy security can be pursued simultaneously. Lower wholesale electricity prices, significant renewable capacity growth and continued policy support have reinforced that narrative.

However, the nationwide blackout on 28 April 2025 introduced a more complex discussion.

While initial commentary sought to attribute the outage to the high penetration of renewable energy within the system, subsequent analysis has pointed elsewhere. The incident instead highlighted a broader issue facing multiple European markets: whether grid infrastructure, operational systems and regulatory frameworks are evolving quickly enough to support large-scale renewable deployment.

For lawyers, lenders, insurers and developers, this distinction matters.

The key legal and commercial risks in the energy transition are increasingly moving beyond the question of whether projects can be developed. The focus is shifting toward whether energy systems can operate reliably, flexibly and accountably at scale.

Germany’s Renewable Energy Market in 2026: Growth, Litigation Risk and the Role of Insurance

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Germany remains one of Europe’s most important renewable energy markets. With ambitious 2030 targets, continued growth in wind and solar, and increasing focus on battery energy storage systems, the direction of travel is clear.

The German market is moving at scale.

Renewable installed capacity increased by nearly 21 GW in 2025, reaching just under 210 GW in total. Renewables also accounted for around 55% of gross electricity consumption, against Germany’s target of 80% by 2030.

For developers, lenders and legal advisers, this creates significant opportunity. However, it also brings a familiar challenge: the gap between policy ambition and project delivery.

Permitting reform may support faster deployment, but litigation risk continues to affect renewable energy schemes. Legal challenges can delay construction, require project modifications and create additional, unbudgeted costs before any final judgment is reached.

For lawyers advising on renewable energy projects, the question is no longer simply whether a permit can be obtained. It is whether the project can withstand the financial consequences of challenge, suspension and interruption.

The EU Renewable Energy Framework Post-2030: What the Consultation Means for Developers and Investors

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EU

The European Commission’s consultation on the Renewable Energy Framework beyond 2030 represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of Europe’s energy transition. With renewable capacity having doubled over the past decade, the focus is now shifting from ambition to delivery.
For developers, investors, and stakeholders operating within the renewable energy sector, this consultation is not merely a policy exercise. It is a clear signal that the next phase of growth will be defined by how effectively projects can be executed within an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment.