Dutch grid operator to spend €28 billion in sustainability improvements

High-voltage grid operator Tennet wants to invest €28 billion over the next ten years in order to make it possible to take on more electricity from renewable sources. Tennet is owned one hundred percent by the Dutch State, and since 2010 it also manages a part of the German high-voltage grid.

Since Tennet has to deal with more providers, maintaining the balance between the supply and the demand on the high voltage grid is becoming more complicated. The connections of electricity networks between the Netherlands and Germany are being expanded. This way a greater security of supply and a price stability can be achieved. According to news source NOS, consumers are also increasingly becoming producers of electrical power thanks to their solar panels.

Of the €28 billion, about 22 will be invested in Germany and six will be spent in the Netherlands. The German investment comes for their own assets, tariff fees and loans, while the Dutch investment is likely to be paid by consumers, with ongoing negotiations of a possible Dutch government investment.

By 2050 Germany intends to cover at least 80 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. The Netherlands is following their lead. These improvements will come with high costs, such as the expansion of wind farms in the North Sea.