Grid congestion, peak shaving and battery storage for business connections

Grid congestion (netcongestie) is no longer a theoretical risk in the Netherlands but a concrete bottleneck for businesses that want a new or larger large-consumer connection. For greenhouse horticulture — with its characteristic peak load from assimilation lighting, heating and climate control — this is directly relevant, both for new connections and for how an existing connection is optimally utilized.

Scale of the problem

At the end of 2025, over 15,000 large consumers (15,014, an increase of 26% compared to a year earlier) were on the waiting list for a new or larger medium- or low-voltage connection, with a total waiting-list capacity of 9.3 GW. Of the transport requests, only about 5% could be granted in 2025. In addition, nearly 8,687 businesses are waiting for capacity to feed self-generated power (for example via CHP or PV) back into the grid.

Note: from 1 July 2026 onward, small-consumer connections will also fall under the same waiting-list system — a relevant development for smaller business locations that were previously outside this issue. For a specific project, check the current status with your own grid operator, as the figures and rules change quickly.

Capacity-limiting contracts as an interim solution

Grid operators are increasingly offering capacity-limiting contracts (CBCs) and non-firm transport agreements in congestion areas: a business gets earlier access to the grid in exchange for a contractual willingness to limit its own consumption (or its own feed-in) at peak moments when the grid operator requests it. Battery storage is deployed here for peak shaving: flattening the business's own consumption profile against the contracted connection capacity, without interrupting the underlying production or cultivation processes.

Note: the exact legal framework and precise conditions of a capacity-limiting contract differ per grid operator and per congestion area, and are under continuous development — for a specific project, always base your assessment on the offer from your own grid operator, not on a single universal contract model.

Subsidy: Energy Efficiency Greenhouse Horticulture (EG)

The RVO scheme Energy Efficiency Greenhouse Horticulture (EG) (Energie-efficiëntie Glastuinbouw) supports investments in energy-saving equipment and installations for greenhouse horticulture businesses, with a subsidy percentage of generally 20% (for certain investment categories 30%) of the eligible costs, a minimum subsidy of €2,500 per application, and a total available budget of €30 million for the round. The investment must appear on the current EG equipment list.

Note: subsidy schemes change per application round (percentage, budget, exact application period and equipment list) — for a specific application, always check the current conditions on rvo.nl rather than relying on the values mentioned here.

Difference from the home-battery guide

This issue is electrotechnically and financially fundamentally different from the private home battery (see the guide on energy storage for home batteries): that concerns a registration obligation from 0.8 kW of power with a single grid-operator portal; this concerns large-consumer connection contracts, congestion management at the grid level, and battery storage that is primarily deployed to stay within a contracted connection capacity, not registration- or leakage-current considerations.

Common mistakes

Applying for a new or larger connection without first checking the waiting-list status in your own congestion area — with roughly a 5% approval chance in 2025, the actual lead time can deviate strongly from the officially stated term.
Viewing battery storage only as storage for your own PV production, not as a tool for peak shaving against a contracted connection capacity — it is precisely the latter that is often the direct trigger for a grid operator to offer a CBC.
Assuming a single fixed subsidy percentage for the EG scheme without checking the current equipment list and application round — the percentage, budget and conditions change per round.
Treating grid-congestion solutions as a purely financial question, detached from the electrotechnical installation requirements — a battery storage system for peak shaving still has to comply with the regular NEN 1010 installation requirements (wiring, protection, inverter connection).