Regulation solar panel rates not non-binding

On Monday, May 20, 2019, the General Court in Curaçao gave its final judgment in the court case that was brought in 2015 by the Association for Sustainable Energy et al. Against the Curaçao and Aqualectra Land. An important point of discussion between the parties was the payback period for solar panels under the new scheme. On the basis of the reports from the experts hired by the parties, the Court of First Instance reaches a - not unreasonably - payback time of 7 to 10 years at the current rates. The Court of First Instance also sees no reason to declare the ministerial regulation ineffective.

The cause of the case was the ministerial regulation 'return of sustainably generated electricity', which came into effect on January 1, 2015, which was financially considerably less favorable for solar panel owners than the previously applicable regulation. For private owners of solar panels, the system of netting or settlement was abandoned, whereby the self-generated electricity was stripped away against electricity taken from Aqualectra. Instead, a system was introduced for both private individuals and companies with a feed-in rate in favor of the panel owner, combined with a fixed monthly fee payable by the panel owner to Aqualectra per kWp drawn up (NLG 16 for individuals, NLG 32 for companies). With effect from 2018, so during the court case, these amounts have been halved.

Interim judgment 5 June 2017 (link)
Final judgment 20 May 2019 (appendix)