Minister tests relaxation of rules for energy generation solar panels or wind turbines

Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp wants to make the joint generation of sustainable energy by means of solar panels or windmills more attractive by easing the rules for local initiatives as a trial.

The rules will be adjusted in relation to the Electricity Act. This law is aimed at central energy generation and is therefore particularly applicable to the large energy producers. However, the government wants to conduct a trial to see whether amended regulations can have a beneficial effect on the decentralized generation of sustainable energy, especially through wind turbines and solar panels that generate local energy.

Kamp wants to loosen the reins for ten small projects, with a limit of a maximum of five hundred connections, and ten large projects that provide a maximum of ten thousand connections. For example, the participating projects would be able to pay for electricity generated in smaller units from now on, for example per quarter of an hour. Current energy companies use day and night rates at most.

From now on, participants in the trial will also be able to calculate their energy prices dynamically. For example, electricity can become cheaper if, for example, the sun shines a lot or if the wind is stronger. Grid management for smaller projects may also remain in their own hands.

Minister Kamp wants to start the trial with the amended rules from 1 January 2015 and hopes that this will provide an impulse to the local generation of sustainable energy. The trial will be evaluated in 2019, which will look at, among other things, the reliability, affordability and safety of the electricity supply. If the results are positive, the minister will consider structurally amending the legislation with regard to locally generated energy.