Subsidies for sustainable energy will remain in place: “Room to boost energy transition”

Some of the resources available to fund sustainability projects are not available every year. This is the conclusion of a study by the consultancy firm CE Delft commissioned by the Dutch Association of Sustainable Energy Companies (NVDE). In response to the research, the association proposes to dedicate the reserves to heating projects in order to achieve climate objectives.

At the end of 2019, according to the consulting firm, there was a budgetary reserve of 3.2 billion euros, which results from an annual surplus of 500 million euros on average over the period 2013-2019. The money will also remain for 2020. Where 4.7 billion euros have been allocated, 5 billion euros are available.

Conservative budgeting is the cause of the budget reserve. Because the government often finds the costs to be higher than they actually are, there is money left over. NVDE says the urgency of the climate issue is too great not to spend billions and would like to see the government take more risks to fund more projects.

“The goal of reducing emissions by 49% by 2030 is not yet in sight with current plans. SDE ++ is the most important driver for achieving these reductions, ”says Olof van der Gaag, Director of NVDE. “Because it takes time to complete projects, some gears must be taken in the short term, also in the SDE ++. In recent years, a budget for sustainable energy has gone unused, and sometimes even returned to the public purse. “On the basis of the CE-Delft study, we believe that it is possible to give the energy transition an additional boost of two billion euros, in particular for sustainable heat.

The NVDE wants 2 billion euros to be available in 2022. In any case, the association can count on the support of the House of Representatives: a majority of the House recently adopted a motion from the ChristenUnie to deploy them more quickly. reservations.

Sustainable warmth

Much of the money would go to geothermal energy, as its sustainability is still far below that of electricity, for example. In the SDE ++ round of 2020, few heat projects were eligible for the grant. Additional funds are needed as soon as possible to ensure that municipalities can install their district heating networks with sustainable heat sources before 2030.