The Nationaal Klimaat Platform of the Netherlands has reported that PV accounted for approximately 18.9% of the country's electricity demand in the first half of 2023.

Throughout that period, solar had the highest share among renewable energy sources, followed by onshore wind (14.2%), offshore wind (8.6%), biomass (7.8%), and hydropower (0.1%). Collectively, renewables accounted for 49.6% of the electricity mix, up from around 43% in the preceding year.

“In June, PV scored a new peak, with more than a third of all electricity,” said the Nationaal Klimaat Platform. “June had approximately 140 hours when sustainable electricity production from solar and wind was greater than the total electricity demand in the Netherlands.”

The agency said that the increase in the share of renewable energy was mainly due to a decrease in total electricity consumption throughout the first half. It noted that clean energy could soon surpass the 50% mark, as more wind and solar power plants are expected to go online by the end of this year.

The rise in electricity production from renewables did not lead to negative prices, the agency said, adding that demand from neighboring contries helped to prevent such a scenario from materializing.

The Netherlands could reach between 100 GW and 180 GW of total installed solar capacity by 2050, according to a new report by Netbeheer Nederland, the Dutch association of national-regional electricity and gas network operators.

The country hit 16.5 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity at the end of June 2022, according to the most recent figures from CBS, the national statistics agency. It said the nation installed 3,803 MW in 2021 and 3,882 MW in 2022.