subsidy

Researchers at TU Eindhoven and TNO were awarded an European grant of 7 million euros to further develop their heat battery. Their battery stores sustainably generated energy to heat homes even on cloudy and windless days. This can be a significant step towards reaching the goal of getting all Dutch homes off the natural gas network by 2050, according to TNO. 

The government set aside 1 million euros per year for a "national facility" in Amsterdam dedicated to commemorating the Netherlands' slavery past, Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science announced with the government's culture plans for the period 2021-2024.

TU Delft cut its subsidy for Delft student association DSC because of abuses during last year's hazing. The university found "behaviors that TU Delft does not consider acceptable" in a student house where aspiring DSC member slept. This included a 'sleeping with the fishes' prank, in which spoiled fish were left in aspiring members' bedrooms, AD reports.

In the first half of this year the Dutch government gave subsidies to a record number of over 4,500 renewable energy projects, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported on Monday. The subsidies involved a total of over 5.8 billion euros, ANP reports.

Compared to the second half of last year, the number of renewable energy projects more than doubled. Then only 2,200 projects received support from the sustainable energy stimulation regulation SDE+. In the first half of last year, it was only 986 projects. 

From September 1st homeowners in Amsterdam can apply for a subsidy to remove their home from the gas connection. The Dutch capital aims to be gas-free by 2050 in order to drastically reduce CO2 emissions in the city. That means that 350 thousand homes must move from natural gas to sustainable heating and electric cooking, Het Parool reports.

Housing prices in Amsterdam increased a massive 23 percent last year, according to figures from the Dutch association of realtors NVM. The national average housing price increase was 9 percent, RTL Nieuws reports.

The average home in the Netherlands now costs about 20 percent more than in the low point of the financial crisis, the third quarter of 2013. The value of houses in Amsterdam is already well over half again as high. 

The Ministry of Culture launched a new fund to help out outdoor festivals and events if they are hit by bad weather, the Ministry announced on Monday. Minister Jet Bussemaker put 500 thousand euros into this fund, from which festivals can get a subsidy if they end up in financial trouble due to unforeseen bad weather.

ProRail may be getting 175 million euros less subsidy next year because the company has been pushing money for maintenance and repairs forward for years, instead of using it to repair train tracks.

The court in Den Bosch ruled on Wednesday that 50Plus parliamentarian Henk Krol can not be held personally liable for repayment of the 206 thousand euros subsidy Stichting Vrienden van de Gay Krant received from the Ministry of Education.

The Netherlands has the third highest rate of cultural attendance in Europe. This includes museum tours taken, orchestras attended and theaters visited.The only countries in Europe to have a higher rate are Denmark and Sweden.

The European Commission has expressed doubts over the justification for some requests for compensation to farmers for subsidies for perishable fruits and vegetables. The EU hereby postpones the allocation of these subsidies on the basis of dubious claims, Z24 reports.