Grid package 2026: zoning now decides grid priority
The draft bill makes designation in regional and land-use plans a prioritisation criterion. State planning becomes grid-relevant.
The draft bill published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs in February 2026 sets out new rules for grid connections: capacity maps updated monthly, a digital application portal, an obligation for grid operators to respond within three months, the option to reserve capacity for up to ten years, and a prioritisation of connection requests.
One of the prioritisation criteria is the designation of the site in regional and local land-use plans. State planning thereby becomes directly grid-relevant: a federal state that designates focus regions for large consumers gives the sites in those regions priority in grid connection.
Hesse presented a data center agenda with a register of potential sites in March 2026. Other states do not yet have a strategy. Whoever uses the instruments first will see the projects first.
Source: BMWE, draft grid package bill, February 2026; State Government of Hesse, 26 March 2026.