The Energy Regulation and Markets Review - Stikeman Elliott

Netherlands
committed to working towards achieving the European target of a 14 per cent share
of renewable energy by 2020. For the long term, the government’s approach is geared
towards the promotion of innovation in order to make renewable energy production
competitive. The government intends to achieve these aims by various means.
One is the so-called SDE+ scheme, whereby subsidies are granted to sustainable
energy projects. The SDE+ will be financed by a surcharge on the energy bills of consumers
and companies. The relevant legislation for the surcharge, which will be imposed as of
2013, is currently being drafted. The main options for achieving the renewable energy
target are onshore and offshore wind energy. Discussions are taking place regarding a more
coordinated planning approach to realise the ambition for 6,000MW onshore windpowered
generation capacity and various projects for offshore wind energy. Discussions
are also taking place on mandatory co-firing of biomass in coal-fired plants as well as on
obligation on suppliers to supply a minimum percentage of renewable energy. Finally,
a recent amendment provides for a possibility to deviate from the Acts for sustainable
local initiatives.
ii Energy efficiency and conservation
The 2006 European Energy Efficiency Directive has been implemented in the Netherlands
in the form of the Energy Efficiency Act as well as in the Acts. This implementation
covers a large number of aspects relating to energy efficiency, such as energy-saving
requirements for appliances and the rollout of smart energy meters. In addition, an
action plan for energy savings has been introduced to increase awareness for the potential
of energy savings in buildings.
The current government has also introduced the ‘Green Deal’ between the
government and society as a whole. The Green Deal aims to resolve any difficulties with
regard to energy saving and the generation of local sustainable energy and to show that
‘green’ and ‘growth’ can go hand in hand without large-scale subsidies.
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions there are two main projects. The first
is the European Energy Trading System in which the energy sector and major industrial
companies are the main participants. The emission rights are partly auctioned by the
government and partly allocated on the basis of European benchmarks. The second
project is carbon capture and storage (‘CCS’). A joint venture (Road) between E.On and
GDF SUEZ is currently developing a large-scale CCS demonstration project, whereby
CO 2
of a new coal-fired power plant is stored underneath the North Sea.
iii Technological developments
The Netherlands has specific strengths in the area of sustainable energy technology,
albeit that the solar sector has suffered recently. To further strengthen the innovative
capacity and competitiveness of the Dutch energy sector, energy has been designated
by the government as an economic ‘top sector’ that should benefit from a modern form
of industrial policy, including a joint innovation agenda for business, research institutes
and government and active energy diplomacy. The government has also set aside funds
for the promotion of trial projects for the development of smart grids. To enhance
infrastructure investments, a new procedure has been introduced in the Acts that offers
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