However, that does not have to be the end of the world. The province of Drenthe wants to support entrepreneurs with ‘applying innovations’ and an ‘area-oriented approach’. The province is already applying this method to entrepreneurs who generate too much electricity. A problem that has existed for several years.
The Equestrian Center in Exloo is such a company. When the roof was replaced, they wanted to partly pay for it with a subsidy for solar panels. Only the power grid was already at its limit, so the solar panels could not feed back. That also meant the end of the subsidy option. Together with the province, the center has made a plan whereby they will sell the power to the neighboring golf club and to a charging station for electric cars. What is left over goes into a large battery, which turns on the lighting in the evening.
“If the province hadn’t helped us, this wouldn’t have been realized. Because you don’t know the way,” says Lieuwe Koopmans of the equestrian center.
Subsidy for batteries is also one of the wishes of farmers’ organization LTO Noord. It also has reports, especially from the municipality of Emmen, of entrepreneurs who run into restrictions. The farmers’ club would also like to see the province focus on ‘sun on the roof’. “There is currently no room for new solar parks,” says regional director Arend Steenbergen.
Entrepreneurs are more concerned about the problems on the electricity grid. According to VNO-NCW, for example, entrepreneurs would like to know what the possibilities are for developing green initiatives outside the grid. “For example, by first storing the surplus and then releasing it,” says regional manager Jurgen Elshof.
But there are also possible drawbacks. “Suppose you have a roof full of solar panels, but they do not feed back to the grid. Does that count in the regional energy strategy?” Elshof wonders. This strategy states that the aim is to generate a quarter of the energy consumption in Drenthe by 2030 through large-scale solar and wind energy. Elshof: “Even if you don’t feed back to the grid, you have made the effort and investment, but it is unclear how much green energy you generate is kept up to date.”
Despite the overloaded power grid, Enexis still sees opportunities to spread the peaks in the network, says Slootweg. “As a grid operator, we are still going to work with that space between the peaks. In between are the valleys, can we do something with that?” For example, with a battery the power can be stored at moments with little load and that power can then be used if the network threatens to become overloaded. “There are technical, innovative and creative solutions. We also have to put our shoulders to the wheel. At the same time, I have to manage the expectations that this will not solve all our problems.”