Netherlands

Dutch power company Liander has installed two large transformers at a distribution station in Ulft, in the province of Gelderland. The devices should provide more room for renewables on the network from next year.

The Dutch government is planning to reduce tariffs by 9% annually from 2023 to 2030. The plan should still ensure a reasonable payback time for homeowners willing to go solar, according to the authorities.

As part of the deal, buyer Svea Solar will expand its installation of panels bought at furniture giant Ikea from its homeland to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Offloading the residential business will enable London-based Solarcentury to focus on its global project ambitions.

The module giant today announced it will donate a million items of personal protective equipment to the European and Asian countries currently battling the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Xinyi Solar reported record profits earlier this month, not surprisingly prompting bullish talk of extending its plans to expand production capacity this year and next. However, with PV demand in Europe key to its returns, the company has accepted the coronavirus epidemic may have an impact this year.

Netherlands trade body Holland Solar has asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy for an extension of grid-connection deadlines for solar projects being built under the SDE+ incentive program for large scale renewables. The association also urged Dutch municipalities to keep processing permits.

Dutch scientists are producing mesoporous titanium dioxide thin films at room temperature by using the papain enzyme in a dip‐coating procedure. This fully organic process could facilitate the development of cheaper, more efficient dye‐sensitized solar cells.

Liander will apply a grid congestion management system in the Gelderland province from the autumn. The measure is intended to reduce the number of solar and wind power projects waiting on new grid capacity.

A report by Norwegian energy consultant DNV GL has considered the opportunity for long-term energy storage to play a role in balancing annual supply and demand fluctuations in a renewables-led grid. Using 58 years of Dutch weather and energy consumption data, the study found long-term solutions such as green hydrogen could make a valuable contribution – but perhaps not as much as some analysts believe.

The Dutch government said that the budget increase will allow several solar projects that were excluded from the previous round to secure contracts in the next one. In the last round, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency received €9.06 billion of applications for just €5 billion of available subsidies.