The Overcrowded Dutch Power Grid: Challenges for Starting Businesses and Expanding Clean Energy

Oct 22, 2023 at 5:10 AM Update: an hour ago

The Dutch power grid is overcrowded. That makes it difficult to start a business that needs a lot of power. There are now 6,600 companies on a waiting list for a connection to the network, and the shortage will continue for years to come. What’s up with that?

More and more households, but also companies, want to get rid of fossil energy, such as gas. As a result, they started using more electricity. North Brabant and Limburg were the first to notice this last year, when the network there could not cope with demand at peak times. The problems now occur in most of the country. Start-up companies must wait until the network has been expanded, or until other measures have been taken.

More and more clean energy

Not only the demand, but also the production of electricity has increased. Consider, for example, large solar parks. That is good for the environment, but the current network is not set up for it. The parks are often located in areas where there has traditionally been little demand for electricity, so that the capacity of the network there is small. In 2018, these solar parks in Groningen and Drenthe already suffered from ‘grid congestion’, i.e. traffic jams on the power network.

In Flevoland, Utrecht and Gelderland, the growth of solar panels, heat pumps and charging stations is currently faster than expected. From 2026, these provinces may experience power outages. In the red areas on the map below, the supply of clean energy is problematic. So a solar park cannot simply be started.

The power network throughout the Netherlands must be adapted and expanded. Agreements are also made with companies to place their energy demand outside peak times. The grid operators will invest 8 billion annually, but the adjustments will take years.

2023-10-22 03:10:23
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