Most solar panels installed at commercial premises

© CBS
The total installed capacity of solar panels rose to 28.6 gigawatt (at peak capacity) in 2024, almost 60 percent of which was installed at commercial premises. The overall annual increase in installed solar panel capacity was smaller than in previous years. Even so, the number of solar panels installed continues to grow. This is according to new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

In 2023, around the same amount of capacity was added to homes and businesses. In 2024, 70 percent of new solar capacity was added to commercial premises and around 30 percent was domestic. Of the total solar panel capacity at the end of 2024, nearly 60 percent was installed at commercial premises, with the rest installed on and around people’s homes. The installed capacity of solar panels increased to 28.6 gigawatt-peak in 2024.

Gap between inverter capacity and panel capacity

A solar installation consists of two components: the solar panels and an inverter. At the end of 2024, the total installed inverter capacity was 25.6 gigawatts. The total inverter capacity is therefore lower than the capacity of the solar panels installed. This partly explains why the amount of solar power generated is lower than the total capacity of the panels installed.

In addition to inverter capacity, other factors can also limit the generation of power, such as the orientation of the panels, total solar radiation received over the course of a year and shade. Up until last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) only published figures on panel capacity, but now figures on inverter capacity are also available.

Of the total installed inverter capacity at the end of 2024, nearly 58 percent had been installed at commercial premises, while the rest was on and around people’s homes. This is because the inverter capacity installed at commercial premises is, on average, 87 percent of the installed panel capacity, while for homes it is 93 percent.

Differences in installed capacity between municipalities

Over 9 in 10 of municipalities in the Netherlands have an average panel capacity per home that exceeds one kilowatt-peak, and nearly 4 in 10 municipalities average above two kilowatt-peaks per home. The municipality with the highest average panel capacity per home is Rozendaal, with just over 2.8 kilowatt-peak in panel capacity per home. The municipalities of Boekel and Someren also have around 2.8 kilowatt-peak.



Of the total installed panel capacity, around 11.7 gigawatt-peak was installed on and around people’s homes at the end of 2024, an average of 1.4 kilowatt-peak per home. That is an average figure for all homes, including homes with no solar power installations.

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) will publish nationwide figures on the number of homes with solar panels later this year in the table entitled ‘domestic energy consumption; house type, area, year of construction and occupancy.’ At the regional level, CBS only publishes figures on the number of solar power installations.