Five compliments to Minister Jetten and Rutte IV cabinet
One more week and then the installation of a new cabinet is a fact. Energy Storage NL would like to look back once more at the results achieved under the current Rutte IV government. Never before have such great strides been made around energy storage as during the past cabinet period.
Energy Storage NL therefore wants to express its appreciation towards the outgoing cabinet and also specifically to Climate & Energy Minister Jetten. Hence, ESNL is handing out five compliments to the former cabinet who have contributed to making a big difference for the energy storage sector in recent years.
1. Energy storage roadmap
Cabinet Rutte IV is the first cabinet to develop a vision for energy storage. Seventy different actions have been formulated through the Energy Roadmap on the themes of electricity storage, heat storage and molecule storage. These actions address further exploration of the added value of home and neighborhood batteries, exploring financing options for seasonal storage through heat, and creating a programmatic approach to scaling up large-scale underground hydrogen storage. The Roadmap is thus a good translation of the points articulated by Energy Storage NL in the National Energy Storage Action Plan 2023.
2. First energy storage transportation rate adjustment
The uncertain business case for energy storage - and specifically the role high transmission tariffs play in it - is a major obstacle to the acceleration of energy storage in the Netherlands. In a separate Administrative Consultation on Energy Storage, together with the grid operators, the ACM, Energy Storage NL and the Ministry, among others, the necessary stimulation of energy storage was discussed. During these consultations, the ACM decided to implement a rebate on transmission tariffs for energy storage of 65% on average. Although ESNL believes that a further discount for storage is possible, we are pleased that with the ACM proposal a first step has been taken for the financeability of energy storage.
3. Grants for energy storage
The former cabinet also built new subsidy opportunities for energy storage in the recent period. For example, the cabinet allocated €100 million for storage pilots at solar parks. The knowledge and experience gained from these pilots will be included in the further development of the scheme for the following years, for which a budget of €200 million is now set aside. In addition, high-temperature thermal storage has been added to the SDE++. Thus, there will be a Thermal Storage High Temperature Heat category in SDE++ in which the use of thermal storage for deferred delivery of high-temperature heat (above 100˚C) to industrial production processes will be subsidized. Finally, molecule storage development has also been promoted with €125 million intended to develop new storage caverns.
4. Fix energy storage in government programs
The outgoing government has had to make important choices during the past cabinet period to minimize problems for the full power grid in the short term, on the one hand, and to take first steps toward an energy system toward 2050 for the long term, on the other. In several government programs such as the National Grid Congestion Action Program (LAN), the National Energy System Plan (NPE) and the Main Energy Infrastructure Program (PEH), energy storage is described as both a short- and long-term solution for building a stable energy system where additional policies for energy storage have been worked on.
The LAN included work on alternative contracts for the incorporation of energy storage that would provide certainty not only to grid operators but also to developers. In the NPE, it was decided to identify energy storage sites, concretely for batteries and electrolyzers, in order to accelerate the rollout of storage. The PEH then decided to include certain energy storage projects, including batteries with a capacity above 100 MW, under "Projects of National Importance," thus accelerating permitting for these projects.
5. Legal definition for energy storage in Energy Law
Until recently, energy storage was not defined in the Law and Regulations. Through the new Energy Act, recently passed by the House of Representatives, this was addressed and a definition for energy storage was added. This ensures legal recognition of energy storage. In addition, the Energy Act also provides for more legal uses of energy storage, for example through the legislative addition "Cable Pooling with Energy Storage. This makes it legally possible to implement solar, wind and energy storage behind one grid connection.
