(Web Desk) Households with solar panels in the Netherlands have been shaken last year after seeing their annual profits drop from €300 to around €500 due to rising feed-in charges and lower solar output.
Feed-in charges are charges that energy companies charge for handling excess electricity, in Pakistan they are called capacity charges, in the Netherlands these charges have gone from 0.12 Euros to 0.14 Euros per kWh.
For a household with an 8-panel system that produces 3,000 kilowatts a year, these fees can significantly affect income, explained Martin Wieser, lecturer in energy transition at the Hohenzollern University of Groningen.
Households with eight solar panels lost about 300 euros in income last year, compared with about 475 euros for households with 12 panels, a price comparison platform said.
According to a platform that tracks renewable energy production, data shows that solar panel production in 2024 was 6 percent lower than in 2023 due to reduced sunlight. However, the decline in solar output was manageable, but the impact of the increase in feed-in charges has been far more significant.
Direct consumption of solar energy by households typically accounts for about 30 percent of electricity generated. The remaining electricity is fed back into the grid, where feed-in charges are applied. After factoring in these fees, eight-panel households saw an average 300 euro drop in annual profits.
For twelve-panel households, the decline was even sharper. In 2024, these systems produced about 180 kW less than in 2023, which equates to a loss of 50 euros at current electricity prices.
The financial strain is especially acute for those who financed their solar panels through loans or renters.
The Dutch government plans to end the popular net metering scheme in 2027. The program currently allows households to offset solar energy production against their annual energy bill.
According to Weiser, the end of the scheme will reduce the annual income of households with eight panel systems generating 3,000 kilowatts by around 250 euros.