The Netherlands is an ideal country for solar panels. The sun shines a lot and it is not too hot. Entrepreneurs also benefit from attractive government subsidies.
Agricultural entrepreneur Teus de Jong had more than 16.000 solar panels installed on the roofs of his companies. We spoke to him at his modern and large-scale dairy goat farm in Lunteren. The location was completely re-opened in 2016 and there is room for 3.800 dairy goats.
Multiple legs under your company
For De Jong, the motive for investing in solar panels is not complicated: "First of all, I chose solar panels because the return is correct. But what has been a very important point for us is the spread of risk. You invest money in something that is separate from the agricultural sector. And I think that is very important, that you have several legs under your company."
Solutions for climate problems
The agricultural sector is often the black sheep in the media when it comes to climate problems. De Jong likes to emphasize that the agricultural sector can also be part of the solution: "We can invest in sustainability and renewable energy. And one of the solutions we can offer with our stables is that we cover our roofs with solar panels."
Choose quality
Solar panels are therefore interesting, but they should never shut down the primary business process. Incorrectly installed solar panels can cause magnetic fields or malfunctions in electrically controlled machines and robots. In addition, fire safety is of great importance. How are cables laid and concealed? Good installations do not save on quality and safety. For example, they have low voltage on the roof, safe to touch and ideal for maintenance. In addition, they switch off automatically in the event of a fire.
De Jong: "I wanted to have a good product in terms of safety and quality. I did not go for the cheapest price. During the process I noticed that Energy Shift really focused on quality. And that is very important.”
€5 billion subsidy available
In November 2020, the government will temporarily run a subsidy tap of 5 billion euros (SDE++ subsidy) open to entrepreneurs who want to install at least 50 solar panels.
After installation, the entrepreneur will receive a subsidy for 15 years per kWh of solar energy generated. And once the solar panels are installed, the energy they generate is free. In addition, the solar panel owner saves on transport costs and energy tax, which an energy supplier charges for the supply of energy. Is not all generated green electricity consumed within the company? Then the remainder is sold to the energy company and is returned to the grid.
Entrepreneurs with a large-scale consumer connection (> 3x80 Ampère) and an available roof area of more than 1.000 m2, have an interesting business case. See for example this calculation example.
Learn more
Would you like to know more about the benefits of solar panels for your company? Easily calculate what you can earn from solar panels on your roof, via this free Online calculator.
* The whole interview with Teus de Jong you can view here.