• Netherland's North-Brabant Province has 12 municipalities launch a project called The Green Zone to install rooftop solar systems
  • 7,000 households in these municipalities are planned to be fitted with a solar power system each
  • The municipalities will bear the upfront cost, lending money for the systems to residents for 15-year period
  • Local renewable energy developer Tautus won the tender for this project and has now selected German municipal utility Pflazsolar as its installation partner

The Dutch province of North-Brabant aims to have 7,000 rooftops in several of its municipalities fitted with a solar power system each, as part of the regional cooperation project De Groene Zone or The Green Zone. A project tender issued by 12 municipalities was won by local renewable energy developer and financier Tautus from Groningen.

Tautus has now selected German EPC Pfalzsolar, a subsidiary of German municipal utility Pfalzwerke, as its installation partner for the project. The PV rooftop systems are scheduled to be up and running within 2 years.

Residents who are interested in getting rooftop solar power systems installed, won’t have to invest in the system initially. They will be able to pay off the loan for these systems within 15 years with a monthly interest rate of 1.35%.

The 12 Dutch municipalities that spearhead The Green Zone are Asten, Best, Cranendonck, Deurne, Eindhoven, Geldrop-Mierlo, Gemert-Bakel, Laarbeek, Someren, Son and Breugel, Valkenswaard and Waalre. They will provide financing to purchase the systems and related equipment for interested households. An administrative unit for the smooth functioning of the program has been set up in the municipality of Eindhoven.

“De Groene Zone makes solar energy accessible for everyone, independent from one’s budget or knowledge,” said Peter Hopmans, project manager from Tautus.

At the end of 2017, Netherlands had a cumulative PV capacity of 2.7 GW, with 700 MW installed in 2017 itself, as per Dutch statistical office CBS (see Netherlands’ Cumulative PV Capacity Hits 2.7 GW).