REVIEW article
Front. Sustain.
Sec. Resilience
A systematic review of systemic challenges and transition strategies for integrating renewable energy sources into conventional electricity generation in the European Union
Provisionally accepted
George-Andrei Beschea
Beatrice-Georgiana Vuțoiu*
Gabriel NASTASE
Maria-Bianca Tăbacaru
George Dragomir
Alin-Ionuț Brezeanu
Stefan-Ioan Câmpean- Transilvania University of Brașov, Brasov, Romania
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This review investigates the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into the European Union's electricity system, focusing on the infrastructural, regulatory, and systemic complexities encountered during the transition to a low-carbon model. The rising penetration of intermittent sources such as wind and solar has created operational challenges for grid stability, dispatchability and overall system flexibility. Empirical studies highlight the growing role of energy storage technologies, sector coupling and coordinated planning tools in addressing these challenges. Considerable divergence persists among national strategies because of heterogeneous climatic, geographic and socio economic conditions, which shape the timing and scope of fossil fuel phase out, especially in coal dependent member states such as Germany and Poland. Financial instruments ranging from tax relief to auction based procurement and shared ownership models have been implemented. However, their effectiveness remains constrained by site specific factors, including resource variability and differing levels of public engagement. Regulatory heterogeneity across EU member states, particularly in the application of renewable portfolio standards, continues to impede convergence in integration efforts. Environmental assessments of high RES penetration scenarios indicate substantial emission reduction potential when integration is aligned with local generation patterns and infrastructure capabilities. The review traces the structural interplay between technological development, institutional arrangements and socio economic determinants in shaping the evolving configuration of the EU electricity sector.
Keywords: decarbonization strategies 5, energytransition policies 3, european union electricity system 2, grid stability and flexibility 4, renewable energy integration 1, smart grids 8, sustainabilitygovernance 6, systematic review 7
Received: 13 Oct 2025; Accepted: 22 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Beschea, Vuțoiu, NASTASE, Tăbacaru, Dragomir, Brezeanu and Câmpean. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Beatrice-Georgiana Vuțoiu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.