The Netherlands has published the results of the 2025 round of its SDE++ (Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie) program for renewable energy projects, a government subsidy offering multi-year financial support for companies delivering large-scale projects.

In a letter addressed to Dutch parliament, the country’s Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth, Stientje van Veldhoven, confirmed the approval of 283 projects in total, covering almost all of the €8 million ($9.1 million) budget. She added that €0.7 billion in applications are still being processed, meaning the total budget will likely be exhausted.

The approvals include 86 solar power projects with a cumulative capacity of 773 MW, compared to the 166 solar projects that submitted subsidy applications, representing over 1 GW of capacity.

A total 33 ground-mounted solar projects with a total capacity of 575 MW were accepted, alongside 50 rooftop solar projects with a combined capacity of 140 MW and three floating PV projects with a cumulative capacity of 58 MW.

Together, these 86 solar projects have been awarded €358 million, with €262 million designated for the ground-mounted projects, €68 million for the rooftop projects and €28 million for the floating PV projects.

The most recent allocation of solar subsidies is down on that seen in SDE++ 2024, which awarded €449 million in subsidies to 1.8 GW of solar. 

Other technologies covered under the subsidy scheme include wind power, hydrogen, biomass, heat pumps and CO2 capture and storage.

Hrvoje Medarac, Head of Dutch New Energy Research, told pv magazine that he finds it reasonable that a number of projects are related to technologies which will allow for the decarbonization of industry, before adding that the Netherlands needs significant additional solar PV capacities to reach its long-term climate goals.

“At the moment solar PV projects face issues with connection to the grid and the constantly increasing number of hours with negative prices on the day-ahead power market,” Medarac added. “One of the solutions to this problem are batteries, and this might be a way forward for solar PV projects.”

van Veldhoven’s letter also points out that many solar projects with an SDE++ grant are not reaching completion, with grid congestion cited as one of the main obstacles.

“This is detrimental, because the government then reserves subsidy funds for projects that will not be realized, and therefore cannot use these funds for other projects in the energy transition,” van Veldhoven wrote. “This is also frustrating for entrepreneurs who invest time and resources in projects that ultimately cannot be realized.”

The minister says she is collaborating with grid operators and trade association Holland Solar to refine the transport indication, a preliminary assessment that advises whether transmission capacity is likely to be available for a project, so that it aligns better with the possibility of obtaining a grid connection.

van Veldhoven’s letter also reveals that the next subsidy round, SDE++ 2026, is due to open from October 27 to November 26 this year. The window is one month later than last year.

Last October, the Dutch government announced plans to phase out its SDE++ scheme in 2027 and replace it with two-way contracts for difference in line with EU market reforms.