A record 4,530 projects were awarded government subsidies under a government scheme to stimulate sustainable energy production in the first six months of this year, the economic affairs ministry said on Monday.

This is double the number of successful applications in the second half of last year and four times as many as in spring 2016.

Of the total €5.8bn allocated to sustainable power generation, €2.8bn went to solar panel projects, the ministry said. This is sufficient to build several thousand hectares of solar panel fields on roofs and in fields. In total, applications were made for over €7bn in subsidies.

Other funding will go to land-based windmills, biomass, geothermal projects and other solar sources.This is the first time projects involving solar panels have headed the list, the ministry noted.

The aim of the subsidy scheme is to help the Netherlands reach green energy targets by 2020.