🇳🇱
Country guide

Balcony Solar in the Netherlands

The salderingsregeling ends 1 January 2027 — and that single change reshapes the payback math for anyone buying balcony PV today.

Last verified: 2026-05-03 · Sources: Rijksoverheid, Eerste Kamer Wetsvoorstel 36 311, RVO, energieleveren.nl

Live data — Netherlands

updated 09 May 2026 UTC
Residential electricity
25.6¢/kWh
S2 2025 · eurostat
+1.6¢ period-over-period
2007 · 3¢2025 · 36¢
Cheapest kit shipping here
priWall
$290.52USD
450 Wp · 1-panel
0.0% over 90 days
Estimated payback
3.3 years
€74 saved/year
3.1¢ /kWh from this kit vs 25.6¢ grid (−88%)
Like paying €1/month over 20 years.
Assumes 70% self-consumption, 414 kWh/year output.
Last regulatory change
No recent balcony-tagged news
Export tariffs (1)
SupplierTariffRateNotes
SalderingsregelingregulatorNet metering (until 31 Dec 2026)0.0¢/kWhUntil 1 Jan 2027: full netting against import (effectively the import tariff). After: at least 50% of supplier import price (excl tax) until 2030.
Per-city payback (PVGIS irradiance, vertical balcony mount)
CityAnnual yield (kWh/kWp)Monthly profileOptimalPaybackSaved/year
Den Haag764
1,0684 y€62
Rotterdam743
1,0374.1 y€60
Eindhoven743
1,0354.1 y€60
Utrecht737
1,0264.2 y€59
Amsterdam736
1,0274.2 y€59
Yield from PVGIS v5.3 (EU JRC), 14% system loss, south-facing 90° tilt for balcony / PVGIS-optimal for rooftop comparison. Monthly profile = relative kWh per month, Jan→Dec. Refreshed every 6 months.
10-year cash-flow scenario
Break-even ≈ 3.3 yr · Net at year 10: €582
0248828kit cost 24812345678910
Cumulative euro savings (amber) vs kit cost (red dashed). Scenario: tariff +3.0%/yr, kit performance −0.5%/yr, 70% self-consumption, current export rate held flat (rarely indexed). Break-even where the curves cross.

Tariff data: Eurostat (quarterly). Export tariffs: hand-curated; weekly scraper rolling out shortly. Payback assumes typical 3-person urban household; scenario-tune in our payback calculator.

The single most important fact for any 2026 NL buyer

Salderingsregeling — full net metering — ends on 1 January 2027. Until that date, every kWh you export to the grid offsets a kWh you import, at the full retail price. After that date, suppliers must pay you a "redelijke vergoeding" of at least 50% of their import price (excluding tax and VAT) through 2030. Practically: a balcony kit you install today earns full retail value for two years on its exports, then drops to roughly half. Your payback math depends heavily on when you install and how much you self-consume.

TL;DR

  • Inverter cap: 800 W AC continuous in line with the EU NC RfG harmonisation rolled out in 2024. There is no Dutch-specific stricter cap; if your kit's nameplate AC output is ≤ 800 W, you sit inside the simplified connection regime.
  • Registration: required via energieleveren.nl within 4 weeks of installation. The portal forwards the notification to your netbeheerder (Liander, Stedin, Enexis, etc.) — no separate form needed.
  • VAT: 0% BTW on residential PV including plug-in kits since 1 January 2023. Applies to the kit itself if it's sold and installed at a private residential address; pure mail-order kit sales are a grey zone (most retailers apply 0% based on the customer's address).
  • Salderingsregeling: ends 1 January 2027. From that date suppliers pay a regulated minimum of 50% of their net import price for exports, until 2030. Post-2030 the floor is currently undefined.
  • Tenant / VVE: No national right-to-install equivalent to Germany's BGB § 554. Most rentals require landlord written consent; owner-occupied apartments (eigenaarsbewoning) typically need majority VVE vote for facade installations.
  • Smart meter: required to claim the new 50% post-2027 compensation. ~92% of NL households had a smart meter (DSMR P1) by end 2025; the remaining analogue/Ferraris meters must be replaced by 2026 under the same legislation.

Salderingsregeling: how the next two years play out

The Dutch salderingsregeling (literally "netting scheme") is the most generous solar self-consumption regime in Europe. It treats every kWh exported to the grid as a direct offset against a kWh imported, at full retail price including all energy taxes. For a small consumer (kleinverbruiker, < 3 × 80 A connection) installing solar in 2025, the net effect is that solar electricity is valued at the household's full retail rate — typically €0.32-0.40/kWh in 2026, including the energy tax (energiebelasting) and ODE surcharge.

On 17 December 2024 the Eerste Kamer (Senate) adopted the Wet beëindiging salderingsregeling, ending the scheme abruptly on 1 January 2027. The build-up was years of negotiation — the original cabinet proposal had a gradual phase-out from 2025-2030; the adopted version cuts the scheme cleanly with one transition rule: from 2027 through 2030, suppliers must pay residential PV exporters at least 50% of the supplier's import price, excluding taxes and VAT. The compensation regime after 2030 is not yet defined in law.

What this means for a 2026 buyer

A typical 900 Wp balcony kit in the Netherlands generates roughly 830 kWh/year (south-facing, 30° tilt, central-NL irradiance). With 70% self-consumption, ~580 kWh are consumed directly and ~250 kWh exported. Concrete payback comparison:

Year of operationSelf-consumption valueExport valueAnnual return
2026 (last year of full salderen)580 kWh × €0.36 = €209250 kWh × €0.36 = €90€299
2027-2030 (50% floor)580 kWh × €0.36 = €209250 kWh × ~€0.10 = €25€234
2031+ (regime undefined)580 kWh × €0.36 = €209250 kWh × ~€0.05 = €13€222

Numbers above use a €0.36 retail rate and a €0.20 supplier import price (50% = €0.10). The drop from €299 to €234 is real but not catastrophic — a 22% reduction. The bigger optimisation lever, post-2027, is to maximise self-consumption: a 2 kWh battery storing midday surplus for evening cooking can lift your self-consumption rate from 70% to 90%, recovering most of the lost export value.

Use the calculator

The payback calculator lets you model both scenarios side-by-side — pre-2027 full salderen vs post-2027 50% floor — for any kit in our catalogue.

The 800 W cap and why nobody calls it that

Unlike Germany, the Netherlands never had a Steckersolar-style standalone legislative framework. Plug-in PV has historically operated under the same rules as any other small generator: it must comply with NEN 1010 (the Dutch electrical installation standard) and NEN 8400 (small-system grid connection), and notify the grid operator on installation. There is no Dutch "800 W rule" on its own statute books.

What changed in 2024: the EU Network Code on Requirements for Generators (NC RfG) harmonised the simplified-connection threshold across the EU at 800 W AC continuous. Dutch netbeheerders (Liander, Stedin, Enexis) adopted the harmonised value administratively — meaning that an 800 W microinverter is the de-facto top end for "just plug in and notify" rather than "apply for a generator licence." You can technically install a 1.5 kW inverter under existing law, but the connection then crosses into more onerous notification requirements at the netbeheerder.

For a balcony kit with a Hoymiles, Enphase or Deye microinverter clipped at 800 W AC, you're inside the simplified regime. This is what every kit sold by Zonneplan, Solarklap, Green Dutch or imports from Yuma (FR) or Priwatt (DE) ships with by default.

Registering at energieleveren.nl

Every Dutch household installing residential PV — whether rooftop, balcony, or ground-mount — must register at energieleveren.nl within four weeks of commissioning. The portal is run jointly by the netbeheerders; one form covers all six grid operators.

What you'll need

The registration is free and takes about ten minutes. The netbeheerder receives the notification automatically; no separate form to Liander/Stedin/Enexis is required. Registration locks in your "solar customer" status with your electricity supplier — without it the supplier is technically not obliged to accept your exports under salderingsregeling.

0% BTW: who qualifies and who doesn't

The 0% BTW rate on residential PV came into force on 1 January 2023 as an amendment to the Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968 (the Dutch VAT Act). It applies to the supply, intra-community acquisition and installation of solar modules and inverters destined for residential use, with no upper power cap (the EU directive that enabled the change does specify 50 kWp as the residential ceiling, but Dutch tax authority guidance is to treat any kit shipped to a residential postcode as zero-rated).

The grey zone: a balcony kit you order from a foreign manufacturer (Priwatt ships ex-warehouse Leipzig, Yuma ships ex-Bordeaux). The selling country's VAT rules apply at the seller's end — Priwatt invoices at 0% German MwSt which Dutch customs translates to 0% BTW because the destination postcode is Dutch. Most established EU kit retailers handle this correctly. For a Chinese import (Aliexpress, Temu) you may be charged 21% BTW on import; the relief is claimable only via your annual income-tax filing.

VVE and tenant rules

Dutch landlord-tenant law does not include an equivalent to the German BGB § 554 right-to-install amendment. The default position in any standard Dutch rental (huurcontract) and any owner-occupied apartment under a VVE (Vereniging van Eigenaars) framework is that external alterations require consent.

Renters

A standard Dutch rental contract treats facade installations as "zelf aangebrachte voorzieningen" — tenant-installed improvements requiring landlord written consent. Refusal must be on reasonable grounds (the law recognises "goede gronden", but aesthetic objections frequently meet that bar in practice). The Huurcommissie (rental disputes board) has not consistently sided with tenants on balcony PV cases in 2024-2025; case outcomes depend heavily on whether the mount is non-invasive and whether the building has a rooftop already.

Owner-occupiers in a VVE

Most VVEs require a meeting vote (50%+ or 2/3, depending on the akte van splitsing) for any external alteration. A balcony rail-mounted kit that doesn't modify the facade is often deemed "non-structural" and can be approved by simple majority; a wall-mounted system penetrating the facade typically requires the higher quorum. Several VVEs have started publishing standard-form consent letters in 2025 — request one from your VVE-beheerder before buying.

Top kits available in the Netherlands

Dutch distribution is one of the deepest in Europe — it's the second-largest balcony market by installs after Germany. Local manufacturers and EU imports coexist:

FAQ

I install in October 2026 — do I get full salderen for the first 2 months?

Yes. Until 31 December 2026 you get the full netting at retail price on every kWh exported. From 1 January 2027 the new regime kicks in mid-contract; your existing electricity supplier must offer the new minimum 50% rate or you can switch supplier within the regulated period.

Will my landlord let me install?

Maybe — Dutch landlords are not legally required to permit balcony PV, unlike in Germany since October 2024. Your strongest case: a clamp-on, fully reversible mount that doesn't penetrate the facade, plus an end-of-tenancy removal clause in writing. If your landlord refuses on aesthetic grounds, the Huurcommissie is not a reliable path forward in 2026.

Do I need a smart meter?

Yes, post-2027. The new compensation regime calculates payments from half-hourly export data delivered by a digital meter (DSMR-P1). If you're still on a Ferraris (analogue) meter, request a free upgrade from your netbeheerder — the legislation requires complete replacement by end-2026.

What about the 50% "redelijke vergoeding" — is it 50% of my retail price or 50% of what?

50% of the supplier's import price excluding all taxes and VAT — typically €0.18-0.25/kWh in 2025-2026. The exported kWh therefore earns you ~€0.09-0.13 after the cut. Compare with the salderen value of ~€0.36/kWh today.

Is the 800 W cap going to change?

Unlikely in the short term. The EU NC RfG harmonised 800 W applies until at least 2027; the European Commission is consulting on raising it to 1.2 kW in line with US trends, but a new directive isn't expected before late 2027.

Sources and further reading

A note on accuracy

The salderingsregeling phase-out is settled law; the post-2030 successor regime is not. We last verified every claim on this page against the official sources above on 2026-05-03. If you spot an outdated detail, tell us and we'll re-verify.

This guide aggregates publicly available regulatory information for English- speaking residents of, or movers to, the Netherlands. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice. For binding interpretations contact RVO, the Belastingdienst, or a qualified Nederlandse jurist.