Imports as a major complication: liberalisation of the green electricity market in the Netherlands

Liberalisation of the green electricity market in the Netherlands has proceeded in a context of relatively generous fiscal incentives and in line with the position that demand is the limiting factor to Dutch green electricity production. The main result was a massive rise of imports partly covered by Renewable Energy Credits and partly virtual in nature, whereas the domestic expansion of green electricity production remained limited. This shows the importance of a supply side focus in designing policies aimed at the expansion of domestic green electricity production in the context of a common market with different incentives in place.