Ready, set, blow: Hungary announces its first wind capacity tender

Hungary’s wind energy sector has reached a historic milestone. 

On 30 August 2026, the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (HEPURA) published the first-ever grid capacity allocation tender for wind power plants in Hungary, offering a total of 702 MVA of grid feed-in capacity across nine grid nodes nationwide.

The following article summarises the key features and requirements of the tender based on the published tender documentation and highlights what developers should consider when preparing their applications.

What is the tender about?

The tender is a competitive procedure where applicants may obtain grid feed-in rights primarily for the establishment or expansion of wind power plants and, on a secondary basis, for battery energy storage systems. Each application must request a minimum feed-in capacity of 14 MVA, and a minimum installed capacity of 14 MW applicable for the wind power plant. “Secondary technology” means that applicants may also include battery storage capacity in their bid, provided that the installed battery capacity does not exceed the primary wind capacity applied for.

The tender documentation is available on HEPURA’s website.

Available grid capacity

The tender makes 702 MVA feed-in capacity available across 9 grid nodes in 4 geographic regions:

• North-western Hungary: Ács Katódgyár (50 MVA capacity), Kisbér (16 MVA capacity) and Komárom Ipari Park (21 MVA capacity) in total of 87 MVA capacity: all must agree to the TMÁ (térítésmentes átadás). TMÁ means that no direct grid connection fee is payable, but the applicant is required to develop and transfer grid infrastructure to the network operator free of charge.
• Western Transdanubia: Szombathely Észak (20 MVA capacity with TMÁ) and Szombathely OVIT (200 MVA capaity; no TMÁ required) for a total of 220 MVA.
• Central Transdanubia: Dunaújváros Dél (50 MVA capacity) Iváncsa (50 MVA capacity) and Székesfehérvár Nyugat (40 MVA capacity) for a total of 140 MVA, all requiring TMÁ. 
• Central Hungary: Ócsa (255 MVA; no TMÁ required), having the  highest available capacity in the tender.

Applications for feed-in capacity may be submitted for the above grid nodes. Grid connection is available from 30 September 2030 at the earliest with a commercial operation deadline of 30 September 2032.

Deadlines and procedural steps

Key deadlines

• Submission period: 4 September 2026 (00:00) to 30 October 2026 (23:59);
• Online consultation by HEPURA: 10 September 2026 (registration at kapacitaspalyazat@mekh.hu at least 1 business day in advance);
• Questions deadline: 2 business days after the consultation date, but no deadline is set for HEPURA to provide an answer;
• FAQ: HEPURA will publish a summary document with significant questions and answers on its website;
• Result announcement: no later than 13 December 2026.

Procedural steps

The tender procedure follows the following steps: 

• submission of applications; 
• formal review by HEPURA with single opportunity for remedy of deficiency although certain core elements of the application are expressly excluded from remedy of deficiency (as described in Point 5 below); 
• substantive evaluation by an Evaluation Committee set up by the HEPURA; 
• result announcement; and 
• formal individual HEPURA decision on each application. 

Importantly, outside the scope of the deficiency correction procedure, the applicant may not modify, amend or supplement its submitted application in any way.

HEPURA decisions

Following the evaluation, HEPURA renders one of three possible decisions on each application:

• declaring the application a winner (or, where the applicant agreed to in advance, a partial winner); 
• declaring the application invalid; or 
• rejecting the application. 

Given the extensive catalogue of invalidity grounds set out in the tender documentation, applicants are strongly advised to pay particular attention to ensuring full compliance with all formal and substantive requirements.

Winner selection and ranking

Where the aggregate requested capacity at a given grid node exceeds the available capacity, applications are ranked by weighted evaluation scores (maximum 100 points may be earned). In case of a tie, the four highest-weighted criteria break the tie. If a tie persists, a notary-supervised draw will decide the outcome.

The evaluation criteria and their respective weights are as follows:

Some of the criteria (i.e. points 1-4 and 6 of the table above) provides for sub-criteria with certain scores ranging on a linear scale from a minimum to a maximum. For instance, if a one-time contribution of EUR 10,000.01 per installed MW is undertaken, a maximum of 2 points can be earned. If, however, a one-time contribution of at least EUR 50,000 per installed MW is undertaken, 20 points can be earned.

Notably, compared to the earlier consultation draft of the tender call, the final version no longer includes a project readiness or stage of preparation criterion, which, in the earlier draft, assessed factors such as the availability of a feasibility study, an audited business plan, land rights, environmental permits and wind measurement data. This change means that the evaluation now focuses solely on the criteria listed in the above table.

Financial securities

During the tender procedure, applicants must undertake the following financial commitments: 

• Participation fee: HUF 3,000,000 (approximately EUR 8,200) per application (with a few exceptions, non-refundable).
• Bid bond (ajánlati biztosíték): 0.5% of the benchmark investment amount. The benchmark investment amount is calculated by multiplying the installed capacity (MW for wind; MWh for storage) and the applicable benchmark value – HUF 406 million/MW (approximately EUR 1.11 million/MW) for wind and HUF 200 million/MWh (approximately EUR 0.55 million/MWh) for battery storage. If the application covers both primary (wind) and secondary (storage) technology, a separate bid bond is payable for each. 

The bid bond may be provided as a cash deposit or a bank guarantee. Bank guarantees must be valid for at least 8 months after the submission deadline and must be denominated in HUF.

• Performance bond (teljesítési biztosíték): minimum 2.5% of the benchmark investment amount, calculated by the installed capacity specified in the HEPURA decision declaring the applicant a winner. Applicants, however, may offer a higher amount for additional evaluation points. In this case, the HEPURA will take this commitment into account when determining the amount of performance bond in its decision. The performance bond must be provided within 15 days upon receipt of the HEPURA decision. Bank guarantee validity must extend to at least 6 months after the commercial operation deadline.

The tender documentation provides detailed rules on the formal requirements for bid bonds and performance bonds, including the release or repayment and loss of such bonds, the issuing bank, the bank guarantee template, and payment details, etc.

We recommend that applicants review the tender documentation and the applicable legislation in detail since any failure by the winning applicant to comply with its post-award obligations may result in the loss of the grid connection right and/or the forfeiture of the performance bond.

Other notable features of the tender

Special attention should be made to the following regarding the tender:

• A project company must be set up: the applicant must be a Hungarian seated project company established exclusively for the purpose of the tendered project.
• Mandatory purchase right (vételi jog): participation in the tender is conditional on the winning applicant undertaking to grant a 25% purchase right in the project company to renewable energy community or communities (megújulóenergia-közösség) designated by the Hungarian government by an individual resolution. The eligible renewable energy community must have its registered seat or area of operations within the same or a neighbouring high- or medium-voltage transformer station district as the planned investment. Further detailed rules regarding the purchase right (e.g. the deadline for exercising such right, proof of its registration, etc.) will be specified in the tender documentation. The purchase right may be exercised within 2 years of the HEPURA’s resolution on granting the grid connection right becoming final.
• Corporate group caps: a maximum of 200 MVA total capacity can be acquired across all applications by one corporate group, and a maximum of 100 MVA capacity per grid node can be acquired per corporate group. Where a corporate group’s aggregate applications exceed 200 MVA, it must submit a preference ranking declaration. Applicants should note that these thresholds require careful planning: the requested feed-in capacity stated in each application is non-modifiable after submission.
• Site requirements: the applicant must specify the planned site of the power plant, identifying lands of at least 1 hectare by their topographical lot numbers (helyrajzi szám). The site must be located within 19 km radius from the tendered grid node. The applicant must hold a lease agreement, right of superficies, usufruct, ownership right or a preliminary agreement related to these rights over the identified land parcels.
• Partial winning declaration: applicants may declare in their bid whether, and to what minimum extent, they accept a partial award. This becomes relevant where the applicant’s bid would be the first to exceed the available capacity at its chosen grid node. If the applicant has accepted partial winning, HEPURA may declare the bid a partial winner up to the remaining available capacity (subject to the 14 MVA minimum threshold). Accepting partial winning also earns additional evaluation points.
• Employee requirement: the applicant (or a member of its corporate group) must employ at least one person with a minimum of 5 years of verifiable energy sector experience in a full-time position. Currently, no detailed information is available regarding what type of documentation confirms the fulfilment of the condition.
• Capacity tolerance: the actual installed capacity of the primary technology (and, where applicable, the secondary technology) may be no more than 10% lower than the installed capacity stated in the application. If this tolerance threshold is exceeded, the winning applicant loses the performance bond in proportion to the shortfall in installed capacity.
• Strict formal requirements: several elements of the application are non-remediable, meaning they cannot be amended or supplemented after submission. These include the grid node identified in the sealed bid document (bontási dokumentum), the requested feed-in capacity, the declaration on mandatory undertaking of the TMÁ investment and the due payment of the participation fee. Other formal requirements regarding the submission, form of the documents should also be taken into consideration when planning the timeframe of submission.
• Exclusion grounds: The tender imposes a strict set of exclusion grounds. Some are general in nature (e.g. outstanding debts to HEPURA or public authorities) while others are somewhat unusual for this type of procedure (i.e. competition law violation by the applicant or a corporate group member, a breach of contractual obligations in a public procurement procedure, outstanding overdue grid connection fees or system usage fees, etc.). 

What this means for developers

This tender represents the most tangible step to date toward Hungary’s wind energy commitments. With 702 MVA of feed-in capacity offered, supported by a transparent evaluation framework with clearly defined criteria and deadlines, the tender offers a genuine opportunity for developers with credible projects and strong local engagement strategies. However, the strict formal requirements, the corporate group caps, the mandatory 25% purchase right for renewable energy communities and the wide range of exclusion grounds demand careful preparation. Developers should begin their analysis as soon as the submission window opens on 4 September 2026 and closes on 30 October 2026.

For more information on Hungary’s evolving energy regulatory landscape, contact your CMS client partner or the local CMS experts who contributed to this article.