Solar park land in Netherlands quadruples in five years as large projects dominate

The total surface area of solar parks in the Netherlands has quadrupled over the past five years, according to Kadaster. The increase is mainly driven by large-scale solar park projects. The number of solar parks has also risen sharply.

Solar parks covered 3,950 hectares last year, compared with less than 1,000 hectares in 2020. The number of parks increased from more than 3,100 in 2020 to over 12,000 one year ago. The largest solar park in the Netherlands is in Dronten, Flevoland. It covers 72 hectares.

The expansion is nationwide. In many provinces, solar park area is now three to four times higher than in 2020. Overall, the land used for solar parks has at least doubled across the country. Gelderland recorded the largest increase, with 534 hectares of new solar park capacity added.

Large installations account for nearly all of the growth. About 98 percent of total solar park surface area is in parks larger than 1,000 square meters. These larger sites are usually owned by companies. Smaller solar parks are more often in private ownership.

Much of the development has taken place on former agricultural land. In 2015, two-thirds of the land now used for solar parks was still used for livestock farming or crop production.