Solar market in the Netherlands

Ground-mounted solar, SDE++ scheme, and grid constraints

Author: Zsolt Szalay

Introduction

According to CBS data, the Netherlands added 3.1 GW of solar capacity in 2024, a sharp decline from nearly 5 GW in 2023.¹ This slowdown is primarily due to the collapse of the residential solar market, which shrank by nearly 70%.

Despite this setback, SolarPower Europe projects that the Netherlands will reach 40 GW of operational solar capacity by 2028, requiring an average of 4 GW of annual additions over the next four years.² Grid operators estimate that solar capacity could reach 42-76 GW by 2030, while the National Energy Plan (Nationaal Plan Energiesysteem) forecasts over 50 GW by the end of the decade.