Overcoming barriers to the transition to renewable energy sources: a study on the barriers to and support mechanisms for the implementation of PV solar plants in the Netherlands

Abstract

To combat climate change, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is key. A mature source of renewable energy is PV solar, which therefore plays an important role in the energy transition of EU Member States. This research focuses on the Netherlands, which aims to generate 35 TWh renewable energy on land by 2030, for which PV solar plants play an important role. The Dutch government has put both economic as well as non-economic support mechanisms in place to support this transition. However, barriers to the implementation of PV solar plants persist and threaten the achievement of the Dutch climate goals. This research has identified key barriers to the implementation of PV solar plants in the Netherlands and has assessed the support mechanisms of the Dutch government in order to answer the research question of ‘how does government support help to overcome the barriers to PV solar implementation?’. To answer this question, qualitative semi-structured interviews were held with developers and close stakeholders to the development of PV solar plants in the Netherlands. With the field-knowledge of these interviewees, this research was able to identify key barriers, the phases of implementation in which these barriers occur and lacunae in the Dutch policies. In the results, it became apparent that the economic support of the Netherlands is quite sufficient, but non-economic barriers, such as a lack of grid connection and capacity, scarcity of space to accommodate the plants, delays in the permit process, qualitative and quantitative shortcomings of local administrations and the NIMBY phenomenon hamper the achievement of the 2030 targets. Therefore, governments should pay equal attention to the non-economic barriers to the transition to renewable energy sources. This research has put forward several recommendations to the Dutch government on how to better tackle the barriers.