The Netherlands is on track to add an additional 3.3 GW of new PV capacity in 2022, enough to bring the total installed solar capacity to 17.6 GW.

If these figures are confirmed by actual deployment, all PV systems installed could cover more than 12% of electricity demand, according to newly released figures from the Dutch state-run Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). RVO cites multiple examples of solar projects not being finally deployed, such as because rooftop buildings were found to be unsuitable for installing solar modules, or new projects were not immediately connected to the grid because of grid congestion.

In addition, RVO reported that installed PV capacity reached 14.4 GW by the end of 2021, with solar accounting for around 9.3% of total electricity demand, with the bulk of the capacity - 8.6 GW coming from systems over 15 kW, with the remaining 5.8 GW coming from smaller installations.

The agency also said about 3.5 GW of new PV installations will be connected to the grid in the Netherlands in 2021, about 200 MW higher than figures released by the Netherlands Central Statistics Office in March, when an estimated 3.3 GW of new solar capacity was installed.

The SDE++ programme for large-scale renewables remains the main driver of planned and contracted PV capacity in the country.

A recent report by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) states that the Netherlands is expected to generate 132 GW of photovoltaic power by 2050.