Hungary's 702 MVA grid-capacity tender: what wind and storage developers need to know

The Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) is allocating 702 megavolt-amperes (MVA) of grid connection capacity at nine nodes, and only wind projects can win it. Bids close at 23:59 on 30 October 2026. Battery storage is an optional add-on worth up to 15 of 100 points. Stand-alone storage and solar cannot bid.

What are the key dates of the 702 MVA tender?

Bids close at 23:59 on 30 October 2026, and MEKH says it will announce the outcome no later than 13 December 2026. MEKH's FAQ expects the formal decisions in late January 2027. Connections fall between 30 September 2030 and 30 September 2032.

The call text on MEKH's tender page binds bidders. MEKH describes its FAQ as informational. Early press reports described the consultation draft. Windtech, for example, gave a 1 to 18 September application window, results by 2 December and a 15 MVA minimum. The final call changed all three.

What is the legal basis for the tender?

The tender rests on section 35/A of the Electricity Act (Vet.) and on Decree 11/2025 (IV. 10.) of the energy ministry. Under Vet. 35/A, medium- and high-voltage generator connections are allocated through tenders that MEKH runs at the minister's request. Decree 11/2025 sets the procedure. Decree 4/2026 (VIII. 28.) GEM amended it from 29 August 2026, the same day Government Decree 131/2026 took effect (see the Decree 131/2026 explainer).

The amended decree requires three things:

• A first wind tender by 31 August 2026 for at least 700 MW, with a 24-month window to start using the connection.
• At least one wind tender per calendar year when the minister asks.
• At least 4,000 MW offered in total across rounds from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, together with the first round.

Which grid nodes are on offer?

The tender offers 702 MVA at nine grid nodes in six districts (járás), according to MEKH. Two nodes, Ócsa (255 MVA) and Szombathely OVIT (200 MVA), hold 455 MVA between them. Seven of the nine nodes require the winner to build network works and hand them to the grid licensee free of charge, known as TMÁ (térítésmentes átadás).

Node and TMÁ data are from CMS, districts from Világgazdaság's list of the nodes, and voltages from Baker McKenzie. MEKH's FAQ confirms each voltage is the actual connection voltage.

Five of the six districts are among the 25 wind eased areas in Decree 35/2025 (XII. 23.) EM. Gyál, where Ócsa sits, is not. The Decree 131/2026 explainer covers what eased-area status changes for permit deadlines.

Who can bid, and who is excluded?

Only a Hungarian project company set up for the project can bid. Under section 7 of Decree 11/2025, it must employ, itself or within its corporate group, at least one full-time person with at least five years of verifiable energy-sector experience.

Other entry conditions:

• At least 14 MVA of feed-in capacity and 14 MW of installed wind capacity per bid (CMS; MEKH's FAQ, answer 28, repeats the 14 MW).
• One plant at one grid node per bid (Accace).
• A site of at least one hectare, identified by lot number, with its farthest point at most 19 km from the node. The bidder declares its right to the land on the form, and MEKH's FAQ (answers 2 and 46) says proof is not needed at submission. The site can be changed only after the award.
• A corporate group may win at most 200 MVA in total and 100 MVA per node (clauses V.6 and V.7 of the call, quoted in MEKH's FAQ, answer 33). Above 200 MVA requested, its bidders must file an identical preference ranking.

The decree's exclusion grounds include overdue payments to MEKH, public debts older than 60 days, a crime or competition-law fine in the previous three years, insolvency and an unproven ultimate beneficial owner. A group member whose performance bond MEKH called in the previous three years is also out. Telex reports that developers who held capacity earlier and did not build are barred.

What is the 25% purchase right for energy communities?

Every bidder must undertake to grant a purchase right of up to 25% in the company that holds the feed-in right. The beneficiary is a renewable energy community designated by an individual government decision. This is a condition of taking part and earns no points, according to Világgazdaság.

Decree 11/2025 (section 7) adds the mechanics:

1. The community must have its seat or operating area in the same or a neighbouring transformer-station district as the project.
2. Within 16 months of the connection-right decision becoming final, it tells the ministry it wants to be on the government's list.
3. It can exercise the right within two years of that decision becoming final.
4. The price follows the auditor-certified capital contributions made to the company, in proportion to the stake.

How does the tender score bids?

Bids are scored out of 100 points across nine criteria, and the ranking matters only at nodes where requests exceed the capacity on offer. The weights below are confirmed by MEKH's FAQ (answer 32) and match CMS and Világgazdaság.

MEKH does not score project readiness. After the validity checks it ranks bids only on these commitments (FAQ, answer 48). Ties are broken by the four highest-weighted criteria (1, 2, 4 and 9), then by a notary-supervised draw.

Criteria 3 and 4 use bands on a 0 to 100 sub-scale that is then weighted. For criterion 3, building 10% above the requested feed-in capacity scores 30, and more than 50% above scores 100 (FAQ, answer 19). Under CMS's example, a one-time contribution of EUR 50,000 per MW or more earns the full 20 points on criterion 1. Offering less than the scored range keeps a bid valid but earns zero on criteria 1 and 2. The call warns that the law on local financial contributions may change (FAQ, answer 17).

CMS reports a single chance to fix deficiencies. Some items cannot be corrected after submission: the grid node, the requested feed-in capacity, the TMÁ declaration and payment of the participation fee.

What fees, bonds and guarantees apply?

Bidders pay a HUF 3,000,000 participation fee per bid and post a bid bond of 0.5% of a benchmark investment amount. Winners post a performance bond of at least 2.5% within 15 days of receiving their decision. MEKH's notice gives the fee, and the bond figures come from CMS and Accace.

Under Decree 11/2025, a bid is invalid if the bid bond is late or incomplete. A winner that misses the 15-day performance bond deadline loses the connection right, and MEKH calls the bid bond. The bidder itself must provide the bonds, not a parent company (FAQ, answer 67).

What happens after a bid wins?

A win starts a fixed sequence of obligations. Missing a step can cost the connection right.

1. MEKH issues an individual decision on each bid, setting the site, technology, connection capacity and connection deadline.
2. Within 15 days of receiving it, the winner provides the performance bond.
3. Within the same 15 days, the winner files a connection request with the network licensee and provides the request security.
4. The winner meets the connection plan and grid connection agreement deadlines set in the licensee's rules.
5. The winner evidences a final building permit by the date in the call (1 January 2030, according to Baker McKenzie and Accace). It covers every permit-requiring item of the wind plant and of the storage, if committed (FAQ, answer 10).
6. The plant connects from 30 September 2030 and reaches commercial operation by 30 September 2032 at the latest. Mandatory TMÁ works must be ready by 30 September 2030 (answer 13).

The decision's data cannot be changed on request, except the site (answer 49). If a winner cannot prove the commitments it made to earn preference points by commercial operation, MEKH must call the performance bond (Decree 11/2025, section 5(7a)), without discretion (answer 72). Points are therefore commitments, not just ranking tools.

What does it mean for wind developers?

The tender prices several commitments into the ranking and checks them until commercial operation.

• Local payments carry 35 of the 100 points. Energy market expert József Balogh told Világgazdaság that payments made before a project earns revenue only add to its costs, and that they should follow revenue.
• Supply chain is scored. EU-made equipment carries 15 points and must be proven with contracts, invoices, delivery notes and manufacturer declarations. Turbine components and producer transformers count. Storage does not (FAQ, answer 9).
• aFRR capability is mandatory. The call requires every bidder to provide automatic frequency restoration reserve (aFRR) control capability, and MEKH says an aggregator can supply it (FAQ, answer 14).
• Support is separate. For how existing schemes work, see METÁR vs METÁROLÓ vs KÁT.

For wind next to other technologies, see wind, solar and BESS on one grid connection.

Can storage bid in the 702 MVA tender, and what does it earn?

Not on its own. Storage can join a wind bid as the optional secondary technology and earns up to 15 of the 100 points. A bid without storage stays valid but can score at most 85 points (FAQ, answer 21). Wind is the primary technology, storage is secondary and no third technology is allowed (MEKH's FAQ, answer 62). CMS reports that installed battery capacity cannot exceed the wind capacity applied for. A battery energy storage system (BESS) counts as a power plant under the decree.

The practical points are:

• Points follow the power ratio. Criterion 4 compares installed storage power (MW) with installed wind power (MW). In MEKH's worked table (FAQ, answer 20), a 5% ratio scores 20 on the 0 to 100 sub-scale, 10% scores 30, 20% scores 50, 40% scores 90 and anything above 50% scores 100, the full 15 points.
• Technical minimums apply. Annex 8 of the call requires at least four hours of continuous discharge at nominal power (0.25C), at least 6,000 full cycles, 98% annual availability and the accreditation requirements of MAVIR's Operating Code for balancing services. The bidder declares compliance on the form, and manufacturer documentation proves it before commissioning (answers 4 to 6).
• A separate bid bond. A bid that combines wind and storage needs one bid bond for each technology.
• No extra grid capacity. Storage shares the awarded MVA. It may inject when the wind plant feeds in less than that capacity, but gets nothing on top (answer 18).
• A commitment, not an option. The 10% tolerance applies to storage power too, so a promised battery that is not built can cost part of the bond and the connection right (answers 31 and 77).

This article does not cover battery revenues. See the Hungary BESS revenue stack for that. For one operator's approach to co-located batteries, see why SolServices is adding battery storage and the battery storage programme.

What does it mean for solar owners?

A solar owner cannot win solar capacity in this tender. It can still be affected, because solar and wind connections to the medium- and high-voltage grid draw on the same national limit. Under Decree 273/2007, section 9/D, the transmission system operator (MAVIR) sets one hosting-capacity limit for solar and wind. A network licensee must refuse a request above that limit, unless it belongs to a winning bid in the 35/A tender.

In practice:

• The exemption helps winning wind bids. A solar request above the limit gets none.
• A solar owner can enter only with a wind project, through a dedicated project company that meets the conditions above. MEKH's FAQ (answer 16) says that sharing a producer line does not, in its view, rule out connecting another plant to it later.

Solar owners who want batteries behind an existing connection do not use this tender. The route for existing parks is in wind, solar and BESS on one grid connection.