News item | 01-03-2024 | 16:18
From September 10, 2024, the Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition Incentive Scheme (SDE++) will be opened again. The SDE++ is the most important scheme with which the government supports large-scale sustainable (energy) projects. Companies, local authorities and non-profit organizations can apply. An opening budget of €11.5 billion is available for 2024. If the full budget is requested and realized, it is expected to provide a CO2-savings of approximately 4.7 megatons in 2030. This is a higher expected CO2savings than last year, because a higher opening budget is available this year.
Pounds
‘Fences’ have been introduced into the SDE scheme since last year. With a fence around part of the budget, a minimum amount is reserved for a specific domain. As a result, techniques that are less cost-effective in the short term, but are necessary for the energy transition in the longer term, are discussed more often. The gates consist of three domains: Low-temperature heat (such as geo- and aquathermal energy), High-temperature heat (such as open industrial heat pumps and electric boilers) and Molecules (such as green gas and renewable fuels). €1 billion has been reserved for the three domains each. Inside (and outside) the gates, the competitive principle continues to apply, whereby cost-effective projects are more likely to be discussed.
Categories and customizations
The SDE++ will be open again in 2024 for most categories that were also eligible in 2023. Including sun, wind, geo- and aquathermal energy, electric boilers, hydrogen and CCS. This year, on the advice of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), a number of new categories will be added, including: solar energy that requires a minor roof adjustment, a new category of heat pump for greenhouse horticulture. Two new categories are also being opened up for technologies with a lower grid impact: the process-integrated heat pump and thermal storage for high-temperature heat.
Settlement of excess profits
The government intends to settle excess profits from the production of sustainable electricity from sun and wind from this year. For these categories, income above a certain level will be classified as excess profit. This excess profit is then settled during the subsidy period with subsidies already paid out or yet to be paid out. This may be the case, for example, if there are high profits due to high energy prices, and in a later period there would be a subsidy with lower energy prices. The Council of State will issue an advice on this.
Opening round
The opening round has five phases, during which the maximum subsidy increases. Projects with a lower subsidy per ton of CO avoided2 can therefore submit earlier and therefore be discussed earlier.
| Opening round SDE++ 2024 | Phase limits maximum subsidy amount (in EUR) per tonne of CO₂ reduction |
|---|---|
| September 10 | 75 |
| 16 September | 150 |
| September 23 | 225 |
| September 30th | 300 |
| October 7 | 400 |
The SDE scheme only reimburses any difference between the cost price of the sustainable technology and the yield of the sustainable energy produced or reduced CO2emissions (the unprofitable top).