Factsheet for measure
NL-2020-1/2683
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Updated
– measures in Netherlands
Energy Agenda
Stimulering Duurzame Energietransitie (SDE++) and Energie-investeringsaftrek (EIA)
Background information
The Energy Agenda, a government strategy aimed at cutting carbon emission by 2050, will introduce temporary additional policies covering all sectors of the economy aimed at supporting a gradual reduction in CO2 emissions of 80-95% by 2050. These policies will consist of a mixture of incentives and regulatory standards and obligations grouped into so-called 'transition paths'. In the Energy Agenda, these transition paths are drawn for the four functionalities (power and light, high temperature heat, low temperature heat and transport) on a general basis.
Based on these guidelines, and taking into account their costs, the government will begin a consultation process with citizens, business, research institutions, civil society organisations and local authorities that will ultimately lead to a joint determination of ambitions and further transition paths (more elaborately detailed, and organised by functionality) for the period up to 2050.
Content of measure
Two incentive schemes are available for businesses:
* The Renewable Energy Grant Scheme (SDE+).
* The Energy Investment Tax Credit (though this existed some time before the Energy Agenda and is not tied to the agenda).
The Renewable Energy Grant Scheme (SDE++)
The SDE++ is a subsidy for enterprises who wish to start producing energy more sustainably or who wish to reduce their CO2 output. In this sense, the SDE++ is broader and farther reaching than its predecessor programme, the SDE+ as this latter version also covers CO2 emissions. The SDE++ has several main categories or areas of activity and within each category offers several specific subsidy types. The main categories include: renewable energy, renewable heat (energy), renewable gas, CO2 reducing heat production, and CO2 reducing production methods. To illustrate the sub-categories for which subsidies may be granted, for renewable energy these include water power, wind, solar energy, and water.
The Energy Investment Tax (EIA) Credit
The EIA is a scheme for companies to gain tax credit on their investments in energy savings techniques and approaches to producing sustainable energy. The scheme allows enterprises to deduct 11% tax on those investments and on top of this, an enterprise can deduct up to 45% of taxes on any profits generated through such energy savings or renewable energy activities. In 2020 the budget for this scheme is €147 million. These investments are described as ‘company resources' on an Energy List, which contains 7 categories of resources which fall under the EIA Credit.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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01 January 2025
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In 2024 and 2025, both the SDE++ and EIA schemes were extended with increased budgets and revised eligibility conditions. The EIA budget was increased to €249 million in 2024, and the Energielijst was updated with stricter criteria to reduce freeridership and support technologies with stronger energy-saving potential. The SDE++ budget also rose to accommodate industrial decarbonisation and CCS, with a continued emphasis on cost-effectiveness per tonne of CO2 avoided. A planned digitalisation process is underway to improve the monitoring and evaluation of both schemes. These updates were introduced as part of the government’s 2025 Climate and Energy Package, which aims to accelerate emission reductions in hard-to-abate sectors.
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Use of measure
According to the interim evaluation of the SDE++ scheme (2020–2022) carried out by Trinomics on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the scheme supported an estimated 3.6 Mton of annual CO2 reduction by the end of 2022, with expectations to rise to 7.2 Mton per year once all awarded projects become operational. The total subsidy commitments during the 2020–2022 period amounted to approximately €11.5 billion. The evaluation shows that most awarded support went to CCS projects, industrial heat systems, and renewable electricity from wind and solar. It also highlights a rising subsidy intensity, with the average cost per avoided tonne of CO2 increasing from €85 in 2020 to €108 in 2022. This trend reflects the inclusion of more capital-intensive and less cost-efficient technologies in recent tender rounds.A 2021 evaluation report on the SDE+ scheme (2011-2020) indicates that it significantly contributed to scaling up renewable energy production in the Netherlands but fell short of achieving the 2020 renewable energy target. By 2020, projects supported by SDE+ generated 20 TWh of renewable energy, accounting for 33% of the country's total renewable energy output. The scheme was cost-effective compared to similar instruments in neighbouring countries, and the realised subsidy intensity increased from €24/MWh in 2011 to €43/MWh in 2020. Recommendations include addressing the lack of growth in renewable heat projects and considering external impacts for more efficient subsidy allocation.
The Energy Investment Allowance (EIA) evaluation (2017-2021) shows that the scheme facilitated over 95,000 applications from more than 45,000 businesses, resulting in nearly €6 billion worth of energy-saving investments. The scheme led to an estimated annual gross energy savings of 9.7 PJ and a net savings of 2.6 to 6.7 PJ (peta joules) per year, with an average CO2 reduction of 0.54 Mton gross and 0.14 to 0.37 Mton net annually. While the scheme was found to be efficient, effectiveness varied, with around 50% of participants being 'freeriders.' Recommendations include refining eligibility and stricter updates to the eligible technologies list.
A 2018 evaluation examined the EIA from 2012 to 2017 and found that in this period, the EIA supported the investment of €4.4 billion in energy savings and renewable energy. The energy saved in this period is estimated to be between 21 and 27 PJ (peta joules). The aim is to have saved 100pj by 2020 and hence there is some progress to be made still. In contributing to energy savings, the EIA also contributes to reductions in CO2 emissions; namely an annual reduction of 0.7 to 1.5 mega tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Unknown
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Unknown
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Form
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Not applicable
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Not applicable
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: Unknown
Involvement
Unknown
Views and reactions
Unknown
Sources
