Solar panel sales are down sharply as homeowners doubt they will see a return on their investment in the face of a government decision to change the way people are paid for feeding excess electricity back into the grid.

In 2023 600,000 solar panels were installed on the roofs of Dutch homes, but the number has fallen to just 225,000 in the first eight months of this year, according to figures from sector organisation Techniek Nederland.

“We are expecting installations to peak at 300,000 this year, half of what it was last year,” spokesman Dick Reijman told Nu.nl.

“There is a lot of uncertainty about the viability of investing in solar panels because the compensation rule is being abolished in one go in 2027 without anything taking its place,” Valeska Hovener of homeowners organisation Eigen Huis said.

There is also unrest among potential solar panel buyers about the costs the energy companies are levying for feeding the electricity back into the grid.

“Consumers see that as a punishment for having bought solar panels. We want those to go once the compensation rule is abolished, but in the current draft law that has not been included,” Hovener said.

However, even if the compensation rule is abolished, solar panels are still a financially advantageous option, Floor de Jonge of climate foundation HIER told the news platform. “People will still get the money back on their investment well within the 25 years lifecycle of the installation,” she said.

A third of Dutch households have rooftop solar panels and around 25% generate more electricity than they use in a year.