Techniek Nederland – a Dutch association representing technical service providers, installation companies, and technical retailers – has written to the lower chamber of the Dutch parliament to highlight the challenges for rooftop PV installers in the Netherlands.
The trade group attributed the recent decline in demand for rooftop PV systems to the government’s uncertainty over grid fees imposed by four energy suppliers – Budget Energie, Vattenfall, Eneco, and Engie – on residential PV system owners. A lack of a long-term strategy for the segment has also contributed to the drop in demand.
“We fear many company closures and bankruptcies among recognized installers,” the association said, noting that the market has been saturated by the presence of many newcomers without experience. “Of the around 3,000 existing installers in the Netherlands, only 650 have been certified as PV installers. These recognized installers have made significant investments in quality, safety and training of their staff. That makes their services more expensive than those of non-certified installers.”
In addition, the association criticized a decision by the Dutch Senate in February to reject a proposal to phase out the country’s net-metering scheme by 2025. The newly formed government coalition later said that the scheme would be phased out starting Jan. 1, 2027. The association noted that consumer confidence has significantly declined due to a lack of clarity regarding the management of the scheme’s phasing-out stage. Waiting for a potential new policy on rooftop solar is not feasible, it said.
According to Techniek Nederland, installers alone cannot convince consumers that new PV systems are still a smart choice. “Given the massive declines in sales, we cannot afford to wait until then a new minister for climate has taken office,” the letter reads.
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DNE Research estimates that the Netherlands could reach an installed PV capacity of 59 GW by 2030 and 98 GW by 2035.
According to a recent report by Netbeheer Nederland, the Dutch association of national-regional electricity and gas network operators, the country could reach between 100 GW and 180 GW of total installed solar capacity by 2050.
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Same situation in Germany, increasing electricity prices push the demand for PV but decreasing feed-in prices make the customers tend to smaller PV plants wich they think they can install themself. Big Companys going bankrupt because they cant scam the customers anymore because poeple are more aware of the prices and there are way more installers then 2-3 years ago. If they tought its gonna be like this forever and they can do whatever they want, i feel its justified they go bankrupt
Don’t worry utility solar will need lot of people. Especially in Northern Africa due to green hydrogen demand.
The government duped the public.
Not only solar power will take a nosedive in the Netherlands but also electric vehicles (who are also getting taxed and tend to be heavier than regular cars due to the batteries).
They never wanted us to go green. They just wanted to charge us more. I am now stuck on a solar panel rental contract that I thought would save me money because the government was getting us paid for solar power we generated