Netherlands Pledges To Have 100,000 More Roofs With Solar Panels In A Year’s Time
Creativecommons.org/Steve Jurvetson
As in previous years, the Dutch solar market has grown significantly in 2013. During the past year more than 100,000 solar panels were installed on new roofs, bringing the total number close to 200,000.
This means that the total power of solar energy has increased by a staggering 82 per cent.
These are the latest figures gathered ahead of next month’s Solar Future NL conference, which will be hosted by Solarplaza in Amsterdam. During the conference, leading scientists, entrepreneurs and experts in the field of solar energy will gather to present the main developments in the market and introduce new strategic insights.
The Dutch network operators recorded 101,326 new installations last year, the majority in private homes. These have a combined capacity of over 300 megawatts solar power. In comparison, in the United States, there were "only" 140,000 installations in 2013.
The total wattage in the Netherlands increased from 365 to 665 megawatts, and the actual growth rate is probably even higher, as operators do not register all capacity in the Netherlands.
The largest growth in the Netherlands is in the solar panels on the roofs of private homes: “It is motivating to see that your neighbour has this. You do not want to lag behind," said Edwin Koot, CEO of Solarplaza. “Moreover, in the Netherlands it is currently more profitable to invest on your roof than to put it in a bank account. In this case you would rather take the lead and show that you are investing in eco friendly solutions".
The growth is further fueled by corporate procurement actions, which cause the low price of solar panels to drop further, and there are now more than 300 local co-operatives and civil initiatives. This means that people work together to get larger systems installed in a variety of buildings – from schools to business rooftops.
In turn, the increased demand for solar panels provides more jobs for suppliers and contractors. The Netherlands now has more than 1,100 suppliers of solar systems – that’s 300 more than the 800 that were reported last May.