Hungary is preparing for what could become the country’s biggest wind energy expansion in decades. The government has announced plans to increase domestic wind power capacity from the current 330 MW to between 3,000 and 4,000 MW by 2030, marking a dramatic policy shift after nearly 15 years of virtually no new wind farm developments.
The ambitious programme was outlined by Economy and Energy Minister István Kapitány, who aims to transform Hungary’s renewable energy mix by making wind a much more significant contributor alongside the country’s rapidly expanding solar sector.
New tenders worth thousands of megawatts
According to Telex’s report, the first step in the strategy will see the state launch a tender for 700 MW of new grid connection capacity by 31 August 2026. If successful, this will be followed by annual tenders offering an additional 1,000 MW of connection capacity in the following years.
Unlike previous renewable energy schemes, however, developers will not receive direct government subsidies. Instead, successful bidders will secure the right to connect their projects to Hungary’s electricity grid, while financing the wind farms themselves under market conditions.
The government hopes this approach will avoid the speculative investment boom that accompanied the early expansion of Hungary’s solar energy sector, where some investors acquired permits primarily to sell them on rather than build renewable energy projects.
EU funding to modernise Hungary’s electricity grid
The expansion depends heavily on upgrading Hungary’s electricity network. According to the government’s plans, as much as EUR 1.5 billion from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility could be invested in energy infrastructure.
Around HUF 50 billion would finance smart meter deployment, while approximately HUF 480 billion would be spent on strengthening the country’s high-voltage transmission network.
Industry experts say these upgrades are essential, as years of underinvestment have left Hungary’s grid struggling to accommodate large volumes of renewable electricity. Once completed, the network could support around 1,000 MW of new renewable capacity each year.
Wind to complement Hungary’s booming solar sector
Hungary already has around 8,600 MW of installed solar capacity, making solar power by far the country’s dominant renewable energy source.
However, experts increasingly argue that the system has become unbalanced. Solar panels produce electricity mainly during sunny daytime hours, often creating oversupply and driving electricity prices sharply lower. By contrast, wind turbines typically generate more electricity during evenings, winter months and cloudy weather, helping smooth fluctuations in renewable production.
Modern wind turbines are also expected to become significantly more efficient after the government recently increased the maximum permitted turbine height from 130 metres to 199 metres.
Although Hungary’s wind conditions are less favourable than those found in offshore regions of northern Europe, new turbines could still achieve capacity factors above 25%, considerably outperforming solar installations, which average roughly 15%.
Challenges remain despite strong investor interest
The announcement has generated significant interest across Hungary’s energy sector, with numerous domestic and international companies reportedly considering projects worth hundreds of megawatts. Yet substantial challenges remain.
Wind farm development in Hungary has effectively been frozen since 2010, meaning developers must navigate an outdated regulatory environment while obtaining environmental permits, aviation approvals and military clearances.
Bird conservation groups have also urged the government to ensure wildlife protection remains central to future planning. The Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society has already submitted a conflict map identifying areas where wind turbines would pose the lowest risk to bird populations.
Developers also face commercial challenges. Financing large-scale wind projects remains difficult because electricity markets have become increasingly volatile, making long-term revenue forecasts less predictable for banks and investors.
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A new era for Hungarian renewables?
Despite the obstacles, many industry participants believe Hungary’s renewable energy sector is entering a new phase. Rather than relying almost exclusively on solar power, the government is seeking a more diversified energy system where wind, solar generation and battery storage work together to improve grid stability and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Whether the target of 3,000-4,000 MW can be fully achieved by 2030 remains uncertain. Many experts believe that reaching this figure in terms of projects under construction is realistic, even if not all of the capacity is connected to the grid by then.
If the programme succeeds, Hungary’s wind industry could experience its largest expansion since renewable energy development first began, ending more than a decade of stagnation and fundamentally reshaping the country’s electricity market.
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This is f…ing insane.
Wind energy is unreliable and inefficient (the attrition losses are much higher than nuclear, thermal, hydro, or even coal) as well as that it is totally unviable without government subsidies (i.e. WE pay to keep it running AND we then pay the electric bill).
They are also devastating to the environment. The turbines decimate bird populations, they destroy many species’ habitats, and they greatly reduce arable land.
The turbines and the batteries needed to store the energy are made from components mined by African child slaves. Those components are highly toxic to the environment. They are also nonrecyclable.
Can somebody please give St. Peti a good kick up his ass and tell him that he doesn’t HAVE to do stupid s… just because Ursula, the W.E.F., N.A.T.O., or whoever orders him to!?!?!
You are right, this really is a stupid idea. I come from the Netherlands where there is far more wind (and less sunshine) than here in Hungary. Wind energy is very unreliable and a known bird killer as well, not to speak about demolishing the landscape.
There are far better alternatives.
Maybe we should “follow the money” and see who tries to earn some here…
More birds are killed from cars and building strikes. Wind is still cleaner than dirty coal or natural gas plants. This is a great idea. What’s insane is people like you who prefer dirtier forms of electricity generation instead of cleaner forms like wind.
Exactly Michael. Don’t forget the insects, poisonous fine dust of the wings, the damaging noise these windmills make, after these things are used up they cannot be recycled, but also it will destroy the landscape views all over the countryside.
All this information is available in Western Europe. In the UK they even operate these things diesel engines. It’s a big scam.
Wind energy is great as the financial investment pays itself back in under 10 years. In terms of energy use, a turbine repays the energy required to build it in just 6 to 12 months. BUT – its only good choice as long as strict EU regulations are followed, meaning e.g. that needed rare metals are NOT sourced from unethical suppliers.
That’s the whole problem, rare earth materials are only made by Chine under very bad ecological conditions. In Europe it is forbidden to mine the ore due to the presence of trace amounts of radioactive isotopes. Wind and solar are not a good investment, as you need to spend billions to spabilize the net to avoid blackouts. Another example of a green liberal goverment bending to the insane dictates of woke EU. The EU first destroyed the electricity nets in Western Europe, now they will do the same to Hungary under this government.