The Dutch Government is to double subsidies for renewable energy to EUR 4bn, from a previously planned EUR 2bn.

In a letter to the parliament, the Netherlands’ minister for economic affairs and climate policy Eric Wiebes announced that the decision was aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by 25% by the end of 2020, meeting the country’s obligations under the Kyoto protocol.

Wiebes said: “There are a large number of projects that can offer a cost-effective contribution to further development, making the energy transition more sustainable.”

The government decided to bring forward a part of the available budget for the Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production (SDE+) scheme, increasing the spring 2020 round, to help projects that have a short implementation period and those who did not get funding in the last tender, according to Power Technology.

The SDE+ is a subsidy set by the Dutch Government for the production of renewable energy, in which producers receive financial help, according to the renewable energy they produce and the technology used to produce it.

The spring 2020 tender round will be the last, said Wiebes, and will “give an extra boost to the development of renewable energy through the stimulation of both new and old project for which the required permits were previously missing.”