The share of solar in electricity generation in the Netherlands was 18.9% in the first half of 2023

In the first half of this year, the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in electricity generation in the Netherlands amounted to almost 50%. In the first half of 2022, it was 43%. Nationaal Klimaat Platform publishes such data.

The Netherlands Environment Agency (PBL) expects the share of renewable energy to rise to 85% in 2030.

The achievement of the 50% milestone is partly due to a slight decrease in total electricity consumption in the first six months of 2023.

The share of renewables for the whole of 2023 is expected to exceed 50% as new offshore wind farms come on stream in the coming months, as well as an increase in the number of installed solar modules and onshore wind turbines.

Quite unexpected for us was the extremely high contribution of solar energy. The Netherlands, which cannot be classified as a country with generous solar resources, generated 18.9% of electricity in the first half of the year. Few countries can boast such a high share of the sun. Perhaps similar figures can be found in Namibia and Jordan.

According to official statistics, the installed capacity of solar energy in the Netherlands in 2022 exceeded 19 GW. The country ranks second in the world after Australia in terms of installed solar energy capacity per capita.