Almost half the electricity generated in the Netherlands in the first six months of this year came from natural sources such as the wind and sun, national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

In total, 46% – or 27.6 billion kWh – was generated from renewable resources, a rise of 16% on the same period in 2022.

Solar energy in particular was up 25% in a year, mainly because more people now have solar panels. Wind energy production was up 16%, largely due to the increase in offshore wind farms.

By contrast, production from fossil fuel sources such as gas and coal fell 8%, the CBS said.

The Dutch markets authority ACM said on Wednesday it expected households will have to pay an extra €8 a month next year in energy transport costs as grid operators invest in boosting capacity, partly to cope with the rise in household solar power production. A final decision will be taken in November.

The government also plans to change the way solar panel owners are compensated for feeding electricity back into the grid, because the current system is costing the treasury more than €400 million in lost energy taxes.

The government argues that by reducing the amount of energy solar panel owners can offset against their own usage, they can be encouraged to use more of their own power and invest in a domestic battery storage system.

According to budget documents released on Tuesday, the compensation scheme will be phased out by 2031 and replaced by a payment system determined by the government.

Both the Dutch consumer and markets authority ACM and the consumer association Consumentenbond said earlier they do not object to the government’s plans, as long as consumers are paid properly for the electricity they generate.