Solar panels in the Netherlands
A 6 kWp system on a typical roof in the Netherlands generates 5,888 kWh a year, worth €758 in the first year against €8,100 spent up front. Everything below shows how that is worked out, on real climate data and this year's actual tariffs.
Where the money comes from
5,829 kWh in year oneEvery kilowatt-hour your roof makes is worth one of two very different amounts. Power you use as it is generated replaces power you would have bought, so it is worth the full retail price. Power you do not use goes to the grid at the export rate, which is far lower. The balance between those two is what actually decides whether solar pays here.
- Used in the house
- 1,749 kWh (30% of output) at 0.270 EUR/kWh, the retail price you avoid paying.
- Sold to the grid
- 4,080 kWh (70% of output) at 0.070 EUR/kWh, the export rate your supplier pays.
Averaged out, each kilowatt-hour is worth 0.130 EUR/kWh. That blended figure, not the headline retail price, is what drives every number on this page. Using more of your own power (an EV, a heat pump, a battery, or simply running appliances by day) shifts output from the lavender side to the mint side and raises it.
A year on the roof
981 kWh per kWp · PVGIS-SARAH3Output is not spread evenly. May is the strongest month at 737 kWh, 4.5× what December manages at 163 kWh. Annual totals hide that swing, which is why a system sized purely on your yearly bill tends to overshoot in summer and undershoot in winter.
The 25-year picture
- Everything the system saves and earns
- €18,171
- What you pay up front
- − €8,100
- Left over
- €10,071
25 years of avoided bills plus export payments, after maintenance and one inverter replacement.
Install cost, with no grant modelled.
Straight subtraction, ignoring the fact that money arriving 25 years from now is worth less than money today.
Same result, in today's money
€3,007€10,071 spread over 25 years is not worth €10,071 today, because you could have done something else with the money in the meantime. Discounting future savings at 4% a year gives €3,007, the net present value. It is the honest number to compare against another investment, and the equivalent annual return is 7.1%.
On the same discounted basis the system pays for itself after 16.7 years.
When you break even
Your position starts at minus €8,100 on install day and climbs as the system earns. The line crossing zero is the payback point.
Cumulative cash position
Break-even in year 13Net position after each year (−net capex up front, then cumulative savings). Crossing the dashed line is payback.
How that figure is built
No step here is a rule of thumb. Every one of them is the same code path the calculator runs on your own address.
Start with the weather, not a brochure
PVGIS-SARAH3 holds satellite-measured irradiance for this location. For a 6 kWp array at 35° facing south it works out to 981 kWh per kWp per year. That is the number a brochure would round up.
Scale it to the system
6 kWp × 981 kWh/kWp = 5,888 kWh a year. Panels lose about 1% in year one and 0.4% a year after, so year one is modelled at 5,829 kWh.
Price each kilowatt-hour twice
30% is used in the house at 0.270 EUR/kWh, the rest exported at 0.070 EUR/kWh. Together: €758 in year one.
Subtract what you actually hand over
A 6 kWp install in the Netherlands runs about €8,100, with no grant modelled, so €8,100 out of pocket.
Run it for 25 years, honestly
Electricity prices rise 2% a year, panels keep degrading, maintenance costs about 1% of the system price annually, and the inverter gets replaced once. Total savings come to €18,171, clearing the upfront cost after 12.7 years.
What we assumed for the Netherlands
Change any of these and the answer changes. They are published so you can check them against your own bill and your own quote.
| System size modelled | 6 kWp at 35° facing south |
| Install cost before any grant | €8,100 |
| Grant or incentive | No capital grant; 0% VAT embedded in price. Net metering (salderingsregeling) ENDS 1 Jan 2027. |
| Net cost to you | €8,100 |
| Electricity price you avoid paying | 0.270 EUR/kWh |
| Export rate paid to you | 0.070 EUR/kWh |
| Share used in the house | 30% of output |
| Electricity price inflation | 2% a year |
| Panel degradation | 1% in year one, then 0.4% a year |
| Maintenance | 1% of system cost a year, plus one inverter replacement |
| Discount rate for present value | 4% a year, real |
| CO₂ avoided | 2,002 kg a year · 47,239 kg over 25 years |
Estimate only, not a quote. Tariffs and grants change; figures use the rates on file for 2026 and an installer's survey will produce the exact number.
Questions people ask about solar in the Netherlands
- Is solar worth it in the Netherlands?
- A 6 kWp system in the Netherlands pays for itself in about 12.7 years and returns €18,171 of savings over 25 years against €8,100 spent up front. Your roof, orientation and shading move the result, which is what the calculator works out for your exact address.
- How much do solar panels cost in the Netherlands?
- About €8,100 for a 6 kWp install, with no national grant modelled. Installers quote against your specific roof, so treat this as the middle of the range.
- What do you get paid for exporting solar power in the Netherlands?
- Exports are modelled at 0.070 EUR/kWh against a retail import price of 0.270 EUR/kWh. Because exporting is worth much less than using the power yourself, how much you consume during daylight matters more than the size of the array.
Your roof is not the average roof
Orientation, pitch, shading and how much power you use by day move these numbers more than anything on this page. The calculator runs the same model on your actual address.
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Solar by city in the Netherlands
Same model, run on each city's own climate data.
For the incentives, tariffs and the 2026 rule changes in detail, read our the Netherlands solar guide.