In the long run, the Netherlands as a whole could generate more than 112 thousand gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. At present, around 23 percent of this is being used, according to updated figures from ZonInzicht, a tool developed by Economisch Bureau Amsterdam (EBA).

ZonInzicht shows how much solar energy is generated in a given municipality and how much room there is for expansion. The differences between municipalities are considerable. In Westerwolde, for instance, almost 88 percent of the potential is being used, while in Rotterdam this is around 7 percent. The tool maps out where municipalities can develop their potential further: on large roofs, on open land, on water or on homes.

ZonInzicht was launched in 2025 and is intended to give policymakers and other interested parties insight, at the municipal level, into the extent to which existing sustainable potential is being used and where there is room for improvement.

You can explore the tool yourself via this link.

ZonInzicht is based on data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and TKI Urban Energy. It draws on figures covering housing stock, electricity consumption, land use and solar power production. On the basis of these data, it has been calculated for each municipality how much space is theoretically available for solar energy, how much of that is currently being used, and how this relates to local energy consumption. This report contains a detailed explanation of how ZonInzicht works.