A farmer with an SDE+ subsidy decision has gold in his hands. An investment in solar panels can easily yield a 9% return per year, for 15 years. That percentage can increase further for entrepreneurs who have a favorable SDE+ decision from 2017, 2018 or 2019.
Run on SDE+ subsidy
Last year's SDE+ subsidy round was already exceeded on the first day. More than 1 billion euros in subsidy was requested in 5 day. Thousands of applicants have therefore never had a chance of the SDE+ subsidy.
It was therefore no surprise that more than 2020 rejected projects were resubmitted during the spring 6.000 round. A real run on the SDE+ subsidy. At the same time, several Gigawatts of SDE+ subsidies are floating around. These are entrepreneurs who have received a subsidy in recent years, but have not yet installed solar panels. In some areas of the Netherlands, less than 15% of the total available capital has been realised.
Unused grant expires
Entrepreneurs who have a subsidy decision must install their solar panels within a fixed realization period. This is the latest date by which the project must be completed, otherwise the decision will lapse. Projects from 15 to 1.000 kWp have 18 months to do so. Larger projects (of 1 MWp or larger) take longer, namely 3 to 4 years.
In connection with COVID-19, Minister Wiebbes announced earlier that all projects to be completed in 2020, get a one-year delay.
On the one hand, entrepreneurs register en masse to have a chance to win the subsidy, while on the other, hundreds of entrepreneurs let their subsidy decision expire unused. What's going wrong?
Waiting on purpose
In many cases, it is simply forgetfulness. The entrepreneur is focused on his daily work, a business partner or accountant has applied for and received a subsidy, and the entrepreneur then forgets to take action. Other entrepreneurs deliberately wait as long as possible before installing solar panels, because the prices of solar panels are falling sharply. The subsidy awarded is based on the market prices at the time of the application. That can indeed be of great benefit. But not if you wait too long and the subsidy decision expires.
A golden opportunity
Large consumers with an SDE+ subsidy earn back their investment in 6 to 7 years on average. After that, the panels will continue to generate electricity for many years to come and the subsidy will continue for years to come. Even when the subsidy ends after 15 years, the solar panels will often last for at least another 10 years. As a result, the entrepreneur saves all that time on his energy costs. He also receives compensation for the unused electricity.
Solar panels are therefore good for the environment, but at the same time a proven profitable investment for many farmers, who earn a lot of money with solar panels. Click here for a calculation example from solar panel specialist Energy Shift.
With an SDE+ subsidy, a farmer earns three times money
More information
Do you have an SDE+ decision, but haven't done anything with it yet? You have gold in your hands. Don't let your grant expire unused.
For example, ask a no-obligation quote to discover how big the return you can get from an investment in solar panels on your roof. Energy Shift has installed more than 700 large solar panel installations at farmers throughout the Netherlands.