Dutch grid operators TenneT, Enexis, Liander, and Stedin have released reports on the availability of grid capacity across the country following the publication of new requirements from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets.

Under the new rules, grid operators will require energy producers to offer flexibility from 1MW to alleviate grid congestion caused by the large number of commercial solar farms and the growth of consumer solar panels.

According to the operators, this will lead to additional capacity to connect parties on the waiting list and enable the growing number of solar panels in homes.

Under the new rules, grid operators will be allowed to agree with market entities about how often and for what fee they help reduce the peak. This will permit congestion service providers to begin acting as intermediaries and making optimal use of the network's available space.

In turn, the new rules are expected to free upwards of 880MW of capacity, enough to connect a significant number of customers on the waiting list.

However, much of this new capacity is constrained in the locales of Noordoostpolder, Friesland, Flevopolder, Gelderland, Utrecht, and Limburg, with virtual “no additional grid capacity” in other regions across the country. Grid congestion for infeed is likely to continue until at least 2029.

The Netherlands has 3.54GW of additional renewable capacity in queues waiting for grid connection. As a result, it is in dire need of actions from grid operators to clear up the interconnection queue to facilitate carbon-free projects.

TenneT has announced significant investments into the Dutch transmission network over 2024.

In the first six months of fiscal year 2024, TenneT said it had increased its investment activity, spending €4.6 billion ($4.97bn) on growth compared to €3.5 billion in the same period last year.

The organization said the increase was mainly related to higher investments in its 2GW offshore program and several onshore projects.