Netherlands

Although solar energy roads are still considered economically unviable, the Dutch water management agency, Rijkswaterstaat announced it will investigate their potential as an alternative to the lack of surfaces for PV deployment in the Netherlands.

The investigation will be carried out by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research on behalf of the national enterprise agency and at the request of PV association Holland Solar and Uneto-VNI, the country’s installers’ association.

The Dutch company provides lithium iron phosphate batteries and employs artificial intelligence solutions for mobility-as-a-service applications. It aims to develop its technology further with the help of the University of Twente.

The company’s Dutch unit, Nuon, has agreed to acquire three solar projects totaling 27.5 MW of capacity from Powerfield. The projects will be developed under the Netherlands’ SDE+ program, for large scale renewables.

The EPC has been operating in the Dutch market for a while. It expects to commission 150 MW of solar PV over the next two to three years. In related news, a total of 772 dairy farms are participating in the FrieslandCampina Solar program.

The Netherlands, second-last in the EU when it comes to the production of renewable energy, presented its first draft of the Dutch Climate Agreement. This agreement is drafted to set out targets and policies across sectors such that the country adheres to the previously proposed Climate Act. When both are signed, writes Rolf Heynen, director of Good! New Energy, the Netherlands will be only the seventh country worldwide with such an act – and on paper one of the most ambitious. What will this mean for solar energy?

In the 2018 spring round of the program for large-scale renewable energy projects, solar secured around 1.7 GW of the 2.3 GW of total capacity allocated. Overall, 3,744 PV projects were selected, which will comprise 57% of the round’s available budget.

The solar project will be built at the A58 Highway, near the municipality of Etten-Leur. More solar noise barriers, relying on bifacial module, are planned for main roads in the Netherlands.

The heatwave across Western Europe saw wind power 20% lower than usual while solar irradiance was 20% above average, according to Vaisala, a provider of measurement systems and equipment for meteorology. If this balancing effect is confirmed by further analysis, the technologies may ensure future energy supply by providing a diversified, ‘climate-resilient’ portfolio.

With a group purchasing program securing hefty discounts for British households – and attracting thousands of potential customers as a result – solar has a viable business case no matter what further cuts the government throws at the industry.