OES Annual Report 2012 - Ocean Energy Systems

101
04 / COUNTRY REPORTS
4.2 / OBSERVER COUNTRIES
NETHERLANDS
Peter Scheijgrond
Tidal Testing Centre
OCEAN ENERGY POLICY
Strategy and National Targets
With the new Government in place late 2012, the target for the contribution of renewable energy to our
energy mix has increased from 14 to 16% by 2020. It is expected that most of this target will be realised
with biomass, combined heat and power (CHP) and wind energy. The potential for energy from water
is about 50-100MW tidal stream energy, 60-100MW tidal barrage and significant potentials for osmotic
power and thermal energy from water bodies.
Support Initiatives and Market Stimulation Incentives
The Dutch Government has defined 10 themes, dubbed the top sectors, along which to align research and
funding. Two of these are top sector Energy and top sector Water. Projects related to energy from water are
support by both these top sectors. Top sector Water looks at local initiatives, governance issues, legislation
and regulation by e.g. the Management Authority for Water and Infrastructure Rijkswaterstaat. Top sector
Energy focuses more on energy generation, contribution to CO2 goals, financial instruments etc.
Main Public Funding Mechanisms
The main structure to support projects which can contribute to the targets is a feed-in tariff: the Renewable
Energy Production Incentive Scheme (SDE+). Only the cheapest forms of sustainable energy qualify for a
subsidy. In 2012, there were 5 phases in the application period, between 13 March up to and including 27
December. NL Agency (AgentschapNL) manages the programme. The tender opens for projects that can
be realised against 7 cts/kWh. In the 4 subsequent phases, applications are open for incremental steps of
9, 11, 13 and 15 cts/kWh. However, in practice the budget is depleted in the first two rounds, limiting the
scheme to the most cost effective and mature solutions. Innovative projects or small projects with a high
overhead are unlikely access funds.
Other funding mechanisms available are through several tenders of the Topsectors (usually 25% extra
budget on top the total of industrial contributions), NWO for long term university lead research and
European Fund for Regional Development.
Relevant Legislation and Regulation
There is no significant legislation or regulation in place for energy from water projects. Projects have to
consider a number of relevant permits such as a Water permit from Rijkswaterstaat, a construction permit
from the local authority, and environmental permits from the province. Since 2012, a single application can
be made for all permits for most projects.
Relevant Documents Released
The Energy from Water Association has published a 10-targets document to support Dutch industry and
research activities in the area of energy from water. See www.energieuitwater.nl