The national government, provinces (IPO), municipalities (VNG), and regional water authorities (UvW) have agreed that solar panels may only be placed on agricultural and natural land in very exceptional cases. Placement on roofs and facades will be considered first, followed by other locations such as car parks, landfills, and along roads. At the same time, the agreements and targets around energy legislation will remain in place. This is what Minister De Jonge (Home Affairs, Housing and Spatial Planning) writes in a letter to the House of Representatives on October 26, also on behalf of Minister Jetten (Climate and Energy).
Preferential sequence of solar
The tasks require tough choices and without prejudice to the RES agreements. Therefore, governments steer along four steps for solar energy generation.
Step 1: Solar panels on roofs and facades
Step 2: Unused land in built-up areas
Step 3: Unused land in rural areas
Step 4: Agricultural and natural land