Subsidy for solar panels on Hague rooftops

Homeowners, companies and organisations in The Hague may apply for a subsidy starting on 8 September 2011 to place solar panels on their rooftops. The municipality is hoping in this way to promote renewable energy.

Solar panels at Madurodam

The municipality will grant the subsidy on the basis of an open registration. You will need to indicate how much power (watts) you would like to place and what kind of financial contribution you would like to receive from the municipality. Applicants who need the lowest subsidy per watt will have first consideration for a subsidy.  This way the greatest amount of solar power possible can be financed from the available budget.

You can apply for a subsidy until 3 November at 17.00 hrs. For 2011 an amount of € 496,000 is available, of which € 198,000 is earmarked for private individuals and € 298,000 for other applicants. The municipality will make available a total of nearly € 2 million for the placement of solar panels until 2014.

Conditions

The applicant must fulfil a number of conditions:

• The minimum power for which you may apply is 600 watts.
• You need to place the panels in The Hague within a six-month period after the subsidy is granted.
• Only solar panels which generate electricity will be considered.
• You may not apply for a subsidy for solar water heaters.

You can find all the conditions and the applications forms on the Dutch-language municipal website.

Climate neutral

By 2040 The Hague aims to become a climate neutral city, a city which uses energy economically, makes use of renewable energy and compensates its CO2 emissions. The Hague has a number of good options for realising this goal. Thanks to its location on the coast, there is plenty of sunshine and wind. The Hague also has had good experience in geothermal drilling for energy.