Business solar capacity now exceeds residential

© Hollandse Hoogte / Dolph Cantrijn
In 2019, the installed capacity of commercial and industrial solar systems exceeded that of home solar systems for the first time. Total installed capacity grew by 2,265 to 6,874 megawatts (MW), a 49-percent increase on the previous year. Business solar installations saw stronger growth (+59 percent) than residential (+39 percent). This is evident from new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Largest business solar capacity found in Midden-Groningen

At the end of 2019, the Dutch business sector had a total installed capacity of 3,637 MW, 59 percent up on the previous year. With 115 MW, the largest solar capacity installed by businesses was found in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, followed by Borsele and Emmen (74 and 73 MW respectively). Midden-Groningen also recorded the strongest growth in this respect (108 MW up on 2018); this is where the country’s largest solar park was put into service at the end of 2019. As a result, the municipality also boasts the largest total installed capacity for businesses and homes combined (137 MW).

Residential solar capacity largest in Utrecht, Groningen and Eindhoven

In 2019, the total capacity of residential roof-top installations amounted to 3,237 MW, representing a year-on-year increase of 39 percent. The largest capacity was found in the municipality of Utrecht (39.1 MW), followed closely by Groningen and Eindhoven (both 38.8 MW).

Utrecht, Eindhoven and Groningen also showed relatively strong growth last year with 12.6 MW, 13.4 MW and 9.0 MW respectively. The installed capacity in Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Amersfoort, Almere and Nijmegen increased as well, by more than 9 MW.

Most large-scale solar installations in RES region of Fryslân

 

As part of the Dutch National Climate Agreement, the Netherlands has been divided into 30 energy regions. In each of these regions, authorities at the provincial, water board and municipal level work together in drafting Regional Energy Strategies (RES) to achieve a greener energy supply.

 

The objective of the climate agreement is to generate at least 35 terawatt hours (35 Mwh) in sustainable onshore electricity by 2030. This agreement involves large-scale power installations of more than 15 kW, regardless of the type of production (solar, wind or biomass).

 

Looking only at solar power installations, in 2019 the RES region of Fryslân had the highest power generation capacity in renewable energy at 191 million kWh, followed by Groningen province, the Eindhoven metropolitan region and Zeeland province. Small-scale solar power production (15 kW or less) are predominantly found in the Randstad conurbation regions of South Noord-Holland and Rotterdam/The Hague.