Dutch government moves to drop mandatory solar for businesses: now what?

The energy-saving obligation (energiebesparingsplicht) applies to businesses and public institutions using more than 50,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity or 25,000 cubic metres of natural gas (equivalent) per location per year. Those covered must take all energy-saving measures that pay for themselves within five years, and report on them to the government every four years.

To keep that workable there is the List of Recognised Measures, the EML: a fixed list of measures, from LED lighting to insulation, that satisfies the obligation. Since 2023, solar panels have been on that list. Large roofs meeting the conditions therefore had to get panels.

From 1 July 2027 the energy-saving obligation is being updated. The biggest change: the payback-period threshold goes from five to seven years, bringing more measures under the obligation. At the same time the entire EML has been recalculated based on current technology, investment costs and energy prices. That updated list has been open for public consultation since 1 July 2026; responses are possible until 19 August 2026.

In the updated list, solar panels no longer appear as a mandatory measure. The reason given in the explanatory notes to the draft regulation: due to changed energy prices and lower feed-in compensation, solar panels no longer pay for themselves within seven years in many situations, and under the system's logic they then do not belong on the list.

Note the paradox: the obligation as a whole gets stricter, because the seven-year threshold pulls more insulation and installation measures into the mandate. Only solar panels fall outside it. Sustainability requirements remain, just not the solar route.

Looking at the current conditions, the obligation never applied to most business owners in the first place. The recognised solar measure targets roofs of 2,000 square metres or more with room for at least 300 kilowatt-peak of panels, a large-consumer grid connection, a roof needing no renovation for the next ten years and an insurer that agrees without a steep premium increase.

That describes a distribution centre or large industrial hall, not the average SME location. For most business premises, solar was already a free choice, and it stays that way. What changes is mainly the signal: the government no longer assumes by default that a large roof pays for itself within the term.

The rationale for dropping solar leans on lower feed-in compensation: those who export a lot of generated power to the grid get less and less for it. That is true, and it mainly affects roofs that generate far more than the building itself uses.

But a generic calculation says little about an individual building. The business case for commercial solar is driven by self-consumption: every kilowatt-hour you use directly is one you neither buy nor export. A company that operates during the day, with cooling, machinery, an office or charging points, uses solar power exactly when it is generated. The feed-in compensation then becomes a side note in the calculation, not its foundation.

To push self-consumption further you can steer and store: shift equipment and charging to sunny hours, or store surplus in a battery for the evening. How that works is explained in our guide to smart energy management; the same principles apply to a business building.

Without an obligation the question simply remains: what does a roof full of panels deliver for this building? There are a few sober reasons to keep making that calculation.

First, the energy bill. Self-generated power you consume directly replaces purchased power at the full supply rate. Second, predictability: part of your electricity costs is locked in for twenty years instead of moving with the market. Third, the grid: in more and more regions businesses are waiting for a new or heavier connection due to grid congestion, and generating and storing on site reduces dependence on that delayed grid.

And anyone covered by the energy-saving obligation is not off the hook when solar is dropped: the remaining measures on the updated EML, from insulation to installations, actually expand under the seven-year threshold. It pays to compare the updated list against your own locations in good time.

1. 1.This is a proposed change, not a final decision. The consultation on the updated list of measures runs until 19 August 2026; after that the ministry finalises the regulation. The intended start date of the updated energy-saving obligation is 1 July
2. 2.Until then the current obligation applies, including solar panels as a recognised measure for the large roofs that meet the conditions.

We are following the process and will update this article once the final regulation is published.