Netherlands supports residential photovoltaic systems

    The Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Change, Eric Wiebes, outlined the proposed residential solar net metered Home Solar System Cost electricity price plan, which will take effect in 2023 and continue until the end of 2030, when the current plan will expire.

    According to the new regulations, the net metered price of excess electricity fed back into the grid will decline at a rate of 9% per year, to 20% of the current electricity price by 2026, and 28% of the current electricity price by 2030. Beginning in 2031, the excess power delivered by residents' systems to the grid will no longer be charged.

    The government cited a study by the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) that showed that the new standards are still conducive to the development of solar energy. However, TNO research does show that if installed in 2023, the proposed net metering rate will extend the payback period of home solar by about 6 years, and if installed in 2028, it will shorten the payback period by less than 5 Years, depending on the size of the system, extend about 7 years on average.

    The prospect of reducing net metered revenue may prompt Dutch owners to turn their attention to increasing the self-use rate of home solar systems, such as adding metered battery storage systems.

    The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recently estimated that by 2030, the installed capacity of photovoltaics in the Netherlands may reach 27GW. The authors of the report stated that the phasing out of net rooftop PV metering is more likely to affect the type of projects installed after 2023 than the total installed capacity.

    Since 2013, the Dutch residential solar industry has grown at a double-digit annual rate, accounting for about 80% of installed capacity in 2016.