Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin companies with expertise in energy efficiency could provide services to help ease the Dutch dilemma.
Renewable power construction is in high gear in the Netherlands but the electric grid’s capacity to bring in the additional power is not keeping up, resulting in serious constraints.
The government is taking “extraordinary” steps that include voluntary reductions in electricity use by large customers and doubling investment in the power grid.
“The power grid is reaching its limits in more and more places,” Energy Minister Rob Jetten said in a letter to the Dutch Parliament, according to Euractiv news.
Grid bottlenecks first appeared in 2018 when power was looped in from two photovoltaic solar parks in Drenthe and Groningen, according to the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), an independent non-governmental organization that supports clean energy.
Northern Holland has been particularly affected by grid congestion for several years because of new housing construction, new data centers, and utility-scale solar installations sited on relatively inexpensive land in the region, RAP said. The organization projects that the low-voltage grid will be at filled to capacity within two to five years.
The Netherlands has been working to become climate-neutral by 2050, with the power sector slated to reach that goal by 2035. In 2022, the Dutch government allocated €15 billion ($17 billion USD) for high-quality renewable energy projects, according to The Hague, a nonprofit economic development group.
According to RAP, the new terms announced by Jetten include:
• Grid operators will double their investment in the power grid from the current €4 billion ($4.5 billion USD) to €8 billion ($9 billion USD).
• Large electricity customers will pay less for power if they reduce consumption during the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in order to prevent blackouts.
• Certain grid expansions, designated as having “important societal interest,” will have their approval process accelerated by 18 months.
Wisconsin companies with innovative technologies for energy efficiency and other solutions for power gridlock may be able to help the Netherlands reduce its power problems.
