Renewable

November 21 (Renewables Now) - An extra round for applications for renewable energy subsidies under the Netherlands’ SDE+ scheme is planned for the spring of 2020 with a budget of EUR 1.5 billion-2 billion (USD 1.66bn-2.2bn), Dutch climate minister Eric Wiebes announced last week.

It will be financed from the unused budget from the two 2019 rounds and will give projects that failed to secure transmission capacity guarantees in time this year a second chance to get the subsidy. 

Before the plan is final, the extra round needs the green light from the European Commission (EC).

The SDE+ grant programme guarantees participants a stable level of revenue over 12 to 15 years. Small scale installations are not eligible for the subsidy, which is calculated based on the difference between the cost of producing renewable energy and the actual price of energy to be received.

Wiebes said the rules in the spring round, to open in March, will be similar to these in the autumn of 2019. In it, the maximum subsidy level allowed for electricity was EUR 0.13/kWh. 

In 2020 the SDE+ subsidy programme will evolve into SDE++ to provide incentive for the sustainable energy transition.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.11)