Wind energy for a sustainable business
Wind energy is one of the cheapest and most efficient forms of sustainable energy. That is why it can be interesting for your company to place a wind turbine on your business premises. Or by developing a wind farm. Read about the available subsidies and the rules.
What is wind energy?
Wind energy is electricity generated by a wind turbine or windmill. It is a clean form of energy with low CO2 emissions. How much electricity a wind turbine generates depends on the:
- height of the turbine
- size of the rotor blades (the mill blades)
- wind speed
- the turbine's capacity
Most wind energy is generated in wind farms. You can invest in wind farms alone or together with others. It might also be possible to place one or more wind turbines at your business premises.
Install a wind turbine at your business premises
Do you want to place a windmill or turbine on your business premises? You might consider a small wind mill (in Dutch) measuring between 15 and 30 metres. This would enable you to generate between 30,000 and 185,000 kWh of electricity per year. You earn back the investment within 6 to 10 years.
There are also mini wind turbines, which you can place on the roof of your company building, for example. But that means you will not earn back your investment as quickly. The environmental benefit is also less.
Use, store, or return energy
You can use the electricity you generate with your wind turbine yourself or store it in a battery (in Dutch). You can also supply the generated electricity to your energy supplier. For this to work, your connection must be suitable, and there must be enough room on the power grid. And you must register your wind turbine with your grid operator on Energieleveren.nl (in Dutch).
Do you have a connection of up to 3×80 amps? Then you can use the netting scheme (salderingsregeling). Your energy supplier will offset the power you send back to the grid against the power you use. The netting scheme ends on 1 January 2027.
Ask your network operator about the transmission capacity
In order to feed electricity back into the grid, the electricity network must have enough room. This is also called transmission capacity. Check this with the network operator of the chosen location in advance. You can find the network operator in the EAN code book (in Dutch).
Grid congestion
Does your business suffer from grid congestion? For example, because you are unable to feed generated power back into the grid? Or because it is taking longer to connect your wind farm to the power grid? At the Loket Netcongestie (Grid Congestion Helpdesk) of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVO, you can find out who gets priority in the event of a shortage on the electricity grid (in Dutch). Complete the Grid Congestion Guide. This will show you what steps you can take and who can help you with this.
Environmental management permit or notification
To place one or more wind turbines on your business premises, you always need a permit. Ask your municipality what the rules and conditions are.
Setting up a wind farm
If you want to invest in wind energy on a larger scale, you could consider setting up a wind farm. You can place larger wind turbines in it, which generate much more energy. You can develop a wind farm yourself. Or together with other companies, citizens, and/or landowners. For example in an energy cooperative (in Dutch).
Steps for setting up a wind farm
The process of setting up a wind farm takes time and requires research. You must take the following into account:
- research you need to do for your situation and location, such as preparing an environmental impact assessment (MER)
- consultation with people nearby, who might be affected
- applying for permits, including an environment and planning permit
- financing your wind farm
- concluding a sales contract for your electricity
- arranging the construction, management and maintenance of the wind farm
have a plan for when the wind turbines reach the end of their lifecycle
Visit RVO.nl to see the steps you need to take (in Dutch) when building a wind farm.
Rules for wind turbines and wind farms
Wind turbines and wind farms can cause nuisance to nature and local residents. That is why rules apply to wind turbines and wind farms. These may differ per municipality. The rules include:
- safety for the environment of wind turbines (in Dutch)
- cast shadow of wind turbines (in Dutch)
- lighting of wind turbines (in Dutch)
- noise from wind turbines (in Dutch)
Subsidies for wind turbines and wind farms
Various subsidies are available for buying or using (operating) wind turbines. You can also borrow money at a lower interest rate.
You can apply for the sustainable energy investment subsidy (investeringssubsidie duurzame energie en energiebesparing, ISDE) if you invest in wind turbines on a small scale. You will then be reimbursed for part of the purchase costs of one or more wind turbines.
Important conditions are:
- You connect the wind turbines to the electricity grid with a small consumer connection of a maximum of 3x80 amps.
- Each wind turbine has a minimum rotor area of 50 m2.
- You apply for an environmental permit before applying for the subsidy.
Are you investing in a wind farm on a larger scale? Then you can apply for the sustainable energy transition subsidy scheme (stimulering duurzame energietransitie, SDE++). You will then receive a monthly subsidy for the energy you generate for 15 years. Important conditions are:
- The wind farm is on land, on a flood defence, or in a lake (not at sea).
- You connect the wind turbines to the electricity grid with a large-scale consumer connection of more than 3x80 amps.
- You have the permits required for the wind farm.
If you invest in business assets, you can get the small projects investment credit (Kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek, KIA). Those business assets can include small wind turbines. The KIA is a deduction from your profit. The condition is that the investment costs fall within the amounts set by the Netherlands Tax Administration (in Dutch).
Do you want to invest in wind turbines together with other companies or citizens? Then you can apply for the subsidy scheme for cooperative energy generation (subsidieregeling coöperatieve energieopwekking, SCE). This applies to plants with a peak power of between 15 kW and 6 MW.
Under the SCE scheme, you will receive a subsidy for the power you generate with your facility. The members of the cooperative must be located within the same postcode area.
If you need a loan for your wind turbines, you can make use of the green projects scheme (Regeling Groenprojecten). You then apply for a loan from a bank with a green fund (in Dutch). You pay a lower interest for this than you would for a normal loan. Your project plan must meet a number of conditions. Only then can the bank apply for the mandatory green certificate (Groenverklaring).