The Netherlands added 1.4 GW of solar capacity in 2025, according to figures published by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).
The official figure is down on estimates which put Dutch solar additions at around 2 GW last year. It also represents a sharp downturn in installations compared to recent years, which reached 5.2 GW in 2023 and 3.3 GW in 2024.
The 1.4 GW takes cumulative solar capacity in the Netherlands to 29.4 GW. At the end of 2025, 43% of solar capacity in the Netherlands was located on the rooftops of homes, smaller commercial buildings and public buildings. The remaining 57% was made up of large rooftop arrays, as well as ground-mounted and floating PV installations.
RVO says solar energy supplied a total 25.8 TWh of electricity in 2025, accounting for 19.7% of total Dutch energy production. This made solar the third largest electricity source in the Netherlands, behind wind (24%) and fossil fuels (48%).
RVO’s analysis attributes the slowdown in solar installations to several factors, including the phasing out of net metering, which will end at the start of 2027, and grid congestion making it difficult to connect new solar PV systems to the grid.
The agency also notes a further increase in negative price hours, which it says is causing some project owners and households to switch off their solar installations at times when supply exceeds demand.
There were 581 negative price hours in the Netherlands in 2025, up from 458 in 2024 and equivalent to 7% of the time.
RVO is now expecting solar energy to grow by an average of 1.3 GW annually between 2026 and 2028.
“Challenges such as grid congestion and negative electricity prices will persist in the coming years,” the agency explained. “However, we expect more owners of solar power installations to start using energy storage and smart energy management. This can mitigate the impact of grid congestion and negative electricity prices.”
RVO’s analysis adds that battery storage capacity in the Netherlands stood at 2.9 GWh by the end of 2025, an increase of 1.6 GWh on figures from the end of 2024. At the time, less than 2% of households with solar panels had a home battery.
The agency is predicting installed battery storage capacity to increase to 6.5 GWh by the end of this year, surpass 10 GWh during 2028 and reach 23.1 GWh by 2030.
In July, the latest round of the Netherlands’ SDE++ subsidy program allocated 773 MW of solar across 86 solar projects. The 2026 edition of the subsidy round is currently set to take place from October 27 to November 26.
The Dutch government has announced plans to phase out the scheme in 2027 and replace it with two-way contracts for difference in line with EU market reforms.