Solar energy has had a much greater impact on the Dutch energy infrastructure than previously expected according to Dutch solar company Solarplaza. Solar panels will supply a much greater share of domestic electricity needs in the future as gas and coal plants are increasingly taken off line, forcing utilities to look seriously at energy storage solutions and smart-grid development.
Some experts predict that the growth in market share enjoyed by solar energy could extend to much more than the 4000MW that has been predicted by companies and organizations for the year 2020, particularly those belonging to the Dutch National Solar Energy Action Committee. The predictions have been based on an annual growth rate of 25 percent but last year alone the growth in the number of installed solar systems in the Netherlands amounted to more than 200 percent. With a growth rate of 50 percent the Netherlands could potentially reach a milestone of 1.5 million installations within five years compared to the 100,000 already operating.
“This is nothing short of a revolution. Since we're right in the middle of it, the speed of it all isn't that noticeable” said Edwin Koot, CEO of Solarplaza. “In ten years, we will look back at this point in time and fully realize the change that has taken place.”
At the end of 2012, Dutch solar panels reached a combined capacity of 280MW with around 240 million kWh of solar energy generated overall last year. This corresponds to 0.22 percent of overall national electricity consumption in addition to the growing amount of solar systems already installed without subsidy for which no data is available. Solar energy generated from rooftop systems is now cheaper in the Netherlands than energy from the grid, largely due to falling prices for solar panels and a continued rise in conventional energy prices. Within three years it is likely that there will be more than 440,000 PV systems in the country supplying 1 percent of electricity consumption but by 2020 an annual production of 4,000MW of solar energy could supply 3 percent of national consumption. If, however, that growth rate rises to around 40 percent this would supply close to 6 percent which means that on sunny days coal and gas plant could be shut down.
Solarplaza believes that the consequences of this solar growth rate are being underestimated in the Netherlands. Energy utilities will have to adapt or lose a considerable part of their revenue as coal and gas plants become less profitable forcing them to dump their energy on the international market.
“That's why energy utilities need to find new business models and really face the challenges head-on” Mr Koot added. “They will need to focus their attention on energy storage systems, advanced energy management and smart-grid solutions.”
Such issues are to be discussed in depth at The Solar Future: NL '13, a solar industry conference to be held on 23rd May in the Evoluon Centre, in Eindhoven.
Further information:
