This report serves to restate and update the findings of an AURES report published in March 2016 (Noothout & Winkel, 2016) about the Dutch support scheme for renewable energy. 1 While the fundamental design of the “Stimulering Duurzame Energie ” (SDE+) remains unchanged it is nearing the end of its lifetime and will be replaced by SDE++ in 2020. Hence, it is now possible to assess eight further auction rounds and many more projects that have been realized, which overall warrants an updated evaluation and report.

The Netherlands was the first European country to introduce a large-scale technology neutral auction scheme with the SDE+ in 2011. This Dutch model has been successful in auctioning support for around 25,6GW of newly (to-be) installed RES capacity. 2 The objective of the report is to provide an overview of the Dutch renewable energy support scheme SDE+ and to evaluate it based on the data available. 3 The key focus is on the auction design of the SDE+ and the effectiveness of the scheme in facilitating the installation and generation of additional renewable energy sources. SDE+ is open for both renewable electricity and heat generation. The focus is on electricity. The report is structured as follows:

  • Introduction
  • Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the Dutch electricity sector
  • Chapter 3 outlines key features and design elements of SDE+
  • Chapter 4 updates the earlier evaluation in the light of the most recent auctions
  • Chapter 5 provides some details, as far as known at the time of writing, about the upcoming SDE++
  • Chapter 6 concludes the report

Download the report here.