Tariffs and subsidy policy for wind energy in the Netherlands and foreign countries

In the European countries different methods are used to stimulate renewable energy, in particular wind energy. In the Netherlands use is made of investment subsidies to install wind turbines on a large scale. In other countries (in this report Denmark, Germany, Great Britain and a few other countries) mainly use is made of the sellback method: electricity, generated by the wind turbines, is supplied to the grid. Also a combination of investment subsidies and sellback is applied. An overview is given of the financial incentive regulations in the above-mentioned countries. Also attention is paid to the underlying motivation and argumentation for the subsidies, the relation between wind energy subsidies and subsidies for other decentralized power generating options, and the impact of the European Union regulations in this matter. Finally an indication is given of how the regulations are financed: out of the general fund, out of environmental levies or directly from the electric companies. Most of the data presented in this report are the results of interviews with representatives of the different countries. 8 tabs