Netherlands puts forward €5 billion in new clean energy subsidies

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
MPs at the Dutch Parliament were close this year to enacting a freeze on ground-mounted PV permits, amid worries over grid congestion (Credit: Flickr / Fred Romero)

The Netherlands has launched the latest round of its renewable energy subsidy programme SDE+ this week, with a budget to the tune of €5 billion (~US$5.6 billion).

Stakeholders can now apply for the Autumn support packages for technologies related to five categories: biomass, geothermal, water, wind and sun.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Running from 29 October to 14 November, the €5 billion will be dished out in three stages, with subsidies increasing in each phase, according to the Netherland’s Enterprise Agency (RVO) website.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate is using the support scheme to boost clean energy in the Netherlands, with an eye on its target to reach 16% renewable energy in its mix in 2023.

Participants are eligible to apply for PV projects with a peak capacity of ≥ 15 kWp that have a utility-scale grid connection. There are four categories of solar as follows:

The PV investments must be made within the following time periods:

  • <1 MWp: 1.5 years
  • ≥ 1 MWp building-related systems: 3 years
  • ≥ 1 MWp non-building systems: 4 years

Subsidies are allocated for periods of 12 or 15 years.

Dutch PV dominated the SDE+ rounds in Autumn 2018, taking €3.2 billion of the €6 billion available to subsidise a 2.9GW PV pipeline.

Later on, more than 5,170 of all 5,376 renewable schemes applying for funding between 12 March and 4 April 2019 in the spring round were PV projects.

Grid bottlenecks have resulted in the government flagging solar’s “poorly designed” applications and making a push back in July to force projects to get an indicative go-ahead from the grid operator before subsidies are awarded. This month, news also emerged that PV operators would indeed be facing connection delays in under-pressure areas.

Details on the ‘Sun’ category of the new SDE+ round can be found here.

The prospects and challenges of solar's new era in Europe and beyond will take centre stage at Solar Media's Solar Finance & Investment Europe (London, 5-6 February) and Large Scale Solar Europe 2020 (Lisbon, on 31 March-1 April 2020).

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

June 9, 2025
Sonnedix has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Renfe to supply 420GWh of renewable energy annually for its commercial operations.
June 6, 2025
Eternal Sun has acquired German solar simulator provider Wavelabs, which has resulted in the formation of a new subsidy, Wavelabs Eternal Sun.
Premium
June 6, 2025
Europe must secure the 'strategic segments' of the solar supply chain, according to experts at a PV Tech panel at this year's Intersolar event.
June 5, 2025
Investment in clean energy and grids will reach US$2.2 trillion in 2025, double the expected investment into fossil fuels this year, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
June 4, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Enlight Renewable Energy is expanding its Gecama Wind Project in Castilla La Mancha, Spain, by integrating solar PV and battery energy storage systems.
June 3, 2025
A joint venture featuring global oil major bp will begin construction on a 240MW solar PV project in Azerbaijan.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece