As published in the Staatscourant (19/12/2023), the increase is due to high demand from the sector to invest in eligible technologies, ensuring energy savings are possible in the Netherlands. Minister Piet Adema increased the available budget from €58 to €70 million.

The energy efficiency subsidy is part of a broader package of transition-accelerating measures aimed at innovation, adoption and stimulation of industry wide energy-saving techniques for Dutch greenhouse horticulture. The subsidy module aims to encourage investments in technologies that have proved to yield energy savings, but may currently still be unprofitable.

Similarly in the UK, the Industrial Energy Transformation (IETF) Fund is now accessible to horticulture businesses with high energy use to cut their energy bills. Clarification on the eligibility for horticulture businesses is still required as is the process by which applicants can register for the IETF to help mitigate against high energy costs and provide confidence to grow and invest in future production.