Small windmills interesting from 2023

Farmers are allowed to build a small windmill on their own building block in various municipalities. It can be interesting for dairy farmers to purchase a windmill, says Stijn Haarhuis of DLV Advies.

A windmill ensures an even generation of energy without increasing the current main fuse. Dairy farmers, for example, often have an electricity consumption of approximately 60.000 kWh, depending on the number of cows and any additional activities around the farm.

Because the consumption is spread over the whole year and all equipment is not switched on at the same time, the main fuse of the network manager does not have to be fused so highly, usually around 3x50A.

Enough wind
A windmill only makes sense financially if there is sufficient wind in the area: an average wind speed of seven meters or more per second. Do you want to invest in a windmill? In that case, invest in one that meets all legal requirements. This mainly concerns compliance with existing standards: design and testing, environment, grid connection and performance, certification, EMC guidelines and machine guidelines.

Due to the emerging market of smaller wind turbines, there are suppliers who can offer the wind turbines cheaply, so there is a chance that they do not comply with all laws and regulations.

Reduce energy costs
It is estimated that there are currently more than 150 small wind turbines in the Netherlands, mainly at dairy farmers, who thus reduce their energy costs. The modern windmills have an average shaft height of 15 meters. With a capacity of 30.000 kWh, they cost about € 40.000 including connection to the meter box.

The permit and construction process is expected to last approximately six months. At an average wind speed of seven meters per second, a feasible return of four to six percent of the investment can be achieved. That includes an SDE subsidy.

Without the SDE fee, the payback period will be over ten years. It is therefore important for agricultural entrepreneurs to apply for SDE in order to maximize the return. The main advantage lies in reducing the energy tax to be paid for the energy consumed, which is possible thanks to internal netting.

Internal netting
If the government decides in 2023 that internal netting will be discontinued, you will pay for the offtake from the grid and you will receive compensation for the feed-in. But the demand for wind turbines will increase many times over as soon as internal netting is abolished by the government.

Internal netting only applies to small business users, where the government decides whether internal netting will expire in 2023. He does not have to pay tax on the electricity that the entrepreneur uses for his own use. This is roughly eleven cents per kWh for the first 10.000 kWh. In the most recent allocation round in March, the entrepreneur will receive between 2,2 and 4,1 cents net SDE per kWh for supplying to the electricity grid, depending on the wind speed.

A condition to be allowed to place a mill is that the municipality cooperates. That is not the case everywhere. If internal netting ends in 2023, the market will change with it. Storing energy in batteries or guiding the energy to the devices that need it or can use it in advance is becoming more interesting. Think of heating a storage tank to heat a room or for hot tap water.

DLV Advice

DLV Advies is an independent consultancy for entrepreneurs, companies and organizations in the agricultural sector. In addition to individual advice, DLV supervises study groups and is active in various Agri&Food projects.

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