Overall, 5,907 renewable energy projects totaling 5 GW are now under review by the Dutch Ministry of Economy in the second round of the SDE+ program for this year. Solar accounts for 72.8% of the total submitted capacity. The Dutch Ministry of Economy has announced that PV projects with a combined capacity of 3,708 MW have been submitted for the autumn round of the 2018 SDE+ (Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie) program for large-scale solar and renewable energy power projects. Solar accounts for 72.8% of the total preassigned capacity. Overall, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), which manages the SDE+ program, has said it will review 5,907 renewable energy project proposals with a combined capacity of 5,098 MW. Of these, 5,636 are PV projects exceeding 15 kW in size. Wind and biomass projects total 822 MW and 342 MW, respectively, while the remaining capacity is for other renewable energy technologies. The Dutch government allocated approximately €6 billion for the autumn round and €12 billion for the whole program in 2018. In the first round of the program for this year, the so-called “spring round”, approximately 1.7 GW of solar projects were ultimately selected by the RVO. In this year’s round, a distinction has been made between the electricity fed into the grid and self-consumed power on the basis of the guarantees of origins released by CertiQ, the country’s entity that certifies renewable energy. The advantage, for those PV plant owners with a high rate of self-consumption, is avoiding the payment of grid and systems costs. As for the injected power, SDE+ compensates for the difference between the cost price of renewable energy and the market value of the energy supplied. Subsidies are allocated for periods of eight, 12 or 15 years, depending on the maximum number of full load hours for each technology. The program has so far produced remarkable results in terms of projected growth. In the latest 2017 Autumn Round, solar was the prevailing source accounting for 69.4% of all preassigned capacity. Approximately 2,313 MW of PV capacity was allocated under the nine rounds of the SDE scheme, which were held between 2014 and 2016. In the two rounds held last year, a total of 4.2 GW of solar was assigned, of which 2.3 GW was allocated in the spring round and 1.9 GW in the autumn round.
The Dutch Ministry of Economy reviewed almost 6,000 renewable energy projects totalling 5 GW for the autumn round of the country’s “Energiewende” (Energy transition). The spring round of the €12bn ($13bn) programme totalled about 1.7 GW. The Ministry of Economy said most of the autumn round schemes, to which it allocated €6bn, would be for solar power with wind, biomass and other renewable technologies making up the remainder.