The Netherlands is not going to hit its  green energy targets without drastic action, the national audit office said in a report on Thursday.

However, one cheap option would be to use subsidies set aside to stimulate sustainable energy for projects abroad, the Financieele Dagblad quotes the auditors as saying.

The suggestion is controversial because it could mean Dutch taxpayers’ money being spent on Norwegian hydroelectric power plants or solar energy farms in Spain, the paper points out.

Nevertheless, it would be cost effective because, for example, investing in Spanish solar power would be cheaper than investing in solar farms in the Netherlands, audit office board member Arno Visser told the paper.

Wind farms

The Netherlands aims to generate 14% of its electricity needs from sustainable sources by 2020 but it is likely to reach no more than 12.4% by then, the audit office said. Currently only around 6% of energy used in the Netherlands comes from sustainable sources.

In order to reach the target, the government will need to invest an extra €12.8bn in subsidising offshore wind farms and other green energy projects. If projects abroad are chosen instead, the energy would count towards the Dutch target but the subsidy needed would only be €9.3bn.

However, the economic affairs ministry does not share the audit office view that targets will not be reached, the FD says. ‘It is a year too soon to say this,’ minister Henk Kamp told the paper.