Energy Storage Takes Center Stage at ‘Toward the New Energy System’
On Monday, September 21, Energy Storage NL (ESNL) attended the event ‘Toward the New Energy System.’ The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) brought together government, the business community, and regional authorities to discuss the development of the energy system. For ESNL, one message was central: energy storage is not a solution for the future, but an indispensable building block of today’s and tomorrow’s energy system.
Energy storage is coming into focus more and more
Minister of Climate and Green Growth Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer and State Secretary Jo-Annes de Bat opened the program by discussing the most important developments in the energy system. Topics discussed included the update to the National Energy System Plan (NPE) and strategies for addressing grid congestion. During the subsequent panel discussion, De Bat, Maarten Otto (Netbeheer Nederland), Cindy Kroon (Vattenfall Nederland), Jelmer Vierstra (City of Woerden), and Erik te Brake (VNO-NCW) discussed the progress of the energy transition. A question from the audience highlighted the rapid growth of energy storage: according to the presentation, battery capacity in households is projected to increase by 160 percent in 2025 compared to 2024. The panel’s responses also showed that batteries can already contribute to grid balance and flexibility, provided they are deployed in a location-specific and smart manner.
From a national strategy to regional agreements
Maureen van Eijk, project initiator and prospective program director, then explained the National Energy Transition Support Program (LOE). The program’s goal is to have energy agreements in place in all regions by 2028. Pilot provinces are working on regional energy roadmaps this year; other regions will follow starting in January 2027.
In the coming months, an initial group of regions will work with the national government to develop regional energy profiles. Other regions can join this effort or, in anticipation of it, draw up their own energy profiles. The ministry will support provinces and other stakeholders by providing expertise, capacity, and process guidance. At the same time, the timeline is ambitious: the pilot provinces do not expect to finalize their energy profiles before the end of the year.
A key point of attention is the alignment between regional energy agreements and national frameworks, including the NPE and the Energy Master Plan (PEH). In addition, it appears that flexibility is still difficult to incorporate into regional energy plans, and it is not sufficiently clear to the officials involved what role energy storage will play in them. ESNL believes that clarity is needed quickly, because the regional integration of storage is a key prerequisite for an energy system in which flexibility becomes the norm.
Storage as an integral part of the energy system
In her closing remarks on the updated NPE, Minister Van Veldhoven highlighted the rapidly declining costs and strong market growth of batteries. Energy storage was also highlighted in various breakout sessions as a solution for balancing supply and demand, providing flexibility, and supporting the reliability of the energy system.
The meeting confirmed that energy storage is high on the agenda for governments, businesses, and regions. The challenge now is to translate this recognition into concrete framework conditions, policies, and regional decisions that enable investments in battery, thermal, and molecular storage. Only then can energy storage make an optimal contribution to an accessible, reliable, and affordable energy system.
