We can make the Netherlands more independent with more solar and wind energy

The need to generate more sustainable energy on land remains undiminished. Solar and wind energy help to combat peak electricity flows and make us less dependent on expensive and unpredictable imports. The Dutch Sustainable Energy Association (NVDE), Energie-Nederland, NedZero, Holland Solar and Energy Storage NL say they can realise much more solar and wind energy than they are given the space for. If it were up to them, the administratively agreed RES ambition of 55 TWh in 2030 would be achievable. 'Clean energy from your own region is often the key to enabling companies and new neighbourhoods to move forward,' says Olof van der Gaag, chairman of the NVDE. 'It is good if this realisation increasingly penetrates RES regions.'

The organisations ask for attention to the perspectives that decentralised generation, in combination with storage, can offer in the event of demand congestion. In more and more places, companies that want to become more sustainable, expand or establish themselves somewhere are confronted with waiting lists for grid connections. Recent research by Eqolibrium shows that demand congestion can almost always be solved technically, but regulations, spatial restrictions and political choices stand in the way. This can and must be done differently.

The energy transition is now about more than realizing megawatts. Is electricity being generated in places where the energy system requires it? The organizations see that there is still not always room created for extra generation and storage where it is badly needed. The needs of the energy system often do not weigh heavily enough in (spatial) considerations.

In this context, the growing imbalance in the realization of solar and wind energy projects is a missed opportunity. Wind energy threatens to lag even further behind, while it complements solar power beautifully: when the sun is not shining, there is often wind, and vice versa.

Decentralised generation and storage can also ensure that new housing estates can be connected to the grid more quickly, where they are currently often delayed by the full power grid. These opportunities deserve more emphasis from policymakers, in addition to dominant frames such as nuisance and space requirements.

The sustainable energy organisations also see great opportunities for the further roll-out of solar and wind energy and energy storage towards 2050, as laid down in the National Energy System Plan. The RES regions are indispensable to create the space for this.