Additional subsidies for electricity have been increased

Minister for Economic Affairs, Maria van der Hoeven, officially published the subsidy scheme for durable energy production 2010 (SDE) in the Government Gazette of 22 January 2010. The scheme opened on 1 March 2010.

Under the SDE 2010 scheme all categories of durable energy generation that were eligible for financial support in 2009 will be subsidized. Additionally, the category wind on land has been extended for large wind mills and in 2010 SDE will also be available for large co-generation installations. A tender for wind on sea has been opened on 4 January last. Applications for this particular tender can be submitted up till 1 March next.

For the subsidy calculations the average cost price of the different durable energy options has been taken into account. The scheme replenishes the proceeds from the sale of energy during the lifetime of the installation so that the unprofitable top is subsidized. Therefore, the subsidy varies annually with the development of energy prices. The energy price and the SDE subsidy add up to the basic amount laid down in the scheme.

The content of the SDE 2010 scheme was made public in a letter to the House of Representatives earlier on. Following a discussion in the House of Representatives on the subject, subsidies for electricity from biomass (co-attenuation installations and small-scale biomass combustion) and the subsidy for gas generation from co-attenuation of biomass has been increased.

The SDE scheme is carried out by NL Innovation, an operational unit of NL Agency, in turn part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Source: Ministry of Economic Affairs, 22 January 2010