Coalition Agreement 2026: Solutions to grid congestion for the logistics sector

Coalition Agreement 2026: Solutions to grid congestion for the logistics sector

By Dennis Gieselaar

Before the weekend, D66, VVD, and CDA presented a new coalition agreement that clearly creates opportunities for real estate parties, tenants, and users whose growth is being constrained by grid congestion. The government is focusing on relieving pressure on the electricity grid through faster grid expansion, shorter procedures, and smarter use of existing grid capacity. But what does this mean in practice for property owners, and for logistics real estate in particular?

From 2026 onwards, accelerated procedures and targeted grid upgrades will reduce delays to decarbonisation and expansion. This will create room for electrification, charging infrastructure, and new logistics developments at locations where the electricity grid is currently a limiting factor. Municipalities and provinces will also receive additional expertise to support grid congestion projects, which should lead to faster decision-making and less complex permitting processes.
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Where are the opportunities?

The coalition agreement places strong emphasis on using existing grid capacity more intelligently. By encouraging energy hubs, flexibility contracts, and demand-side management through new policy measures, logistics clusters will be able to grow without immediately requiring a larger grid connection. Dependence on the electricity grid will also be reduced by facilitating investment in local generation, storage, and smart control. To support this, the SDE++ scheme will be extended with six new rounds. This will make logistics real estate more flexible and better prepared for future requirements from both users and policy.

New legislation and adjusted priority frameworks will also increase the likelihood of obtaining a connection or an upgrade for locations with a clear and well-substantiated energy vision. In addition, the government is introducing flexible tenders, allowing flexible capacity, such as batteries and controllable installations, to be deployed at locations affected by grid congestion. These instruments make it possible to absorb temporary capacity shortages without immediate grid reinforcement. Grid-aware charging of electric trucks and flexible energy use will also be encouraged through new tariff incentives and regulation, so that electric vehicles, installations, and storage systems operate mainly at times when there is abundant local supply or spare room on the grid.

The new government places a clear responsibility on the logistics sector itself. It states that, in a situation of structural scarcity, available grid capacity must be taken into account from the very beginning of a development. Grid congestion affects multiple parties at the same time and shows that development without clear direction is now barely possible. Storage capacity in the form of battery storage can play an important role in the feasibility of a permit, access to capacity, and the strength of the business case. At the same time, coordination between property owners, logistics users, grid operators, and government bodies will remain essential in aligning capacity, planning, and conditions. Steddion can play an important role here for developers. Decarbonisation and electrification are clear policy objectives, but in practice they prove workable only when backed by sufficient knowledge of regulation, procedures, and technical feasibility.

Ultimately, the future value of logistics real estate is increasingly determined by the energy position of a location. Real estate without a coherent energy vision risks losing flexibility, attractiveness, and development potential.

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Conclusion
The government is taking clear and concrete steps to relieve grid congestion and enable the growth of logistics real estate. The opportunities are there. The only question is whether the sector is ready for them.

In practice, there is often a lack of integrated knowledge needed to translate smart grid solutions, flexibility, and regulation into a robust business case. Not because parties are unwilling, but because energy and grid congestion are simply not their core business, and developments are moving at great speed.

That is precisely where the key lies. Logistics real estate that wants to remain future-ready requires direction, consistency, and specialist expertise. That is where parties such as Steddion can make the difference: by bringing policy, technology, and economics together and turning them into workable solutions that deliver in practice.

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Would you like to know more about the possibilities? Email: dennis.gieselaar@steddion.com

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