Germany and the Netherlands both end their solar export payments on 1 January 2027 — two independent decisions that land on the same date and push the same conclusion: store it, don’t sell it.
Germany’s Federal Cabinet has approved the abolition of feed-in tariffs for new photovoltaic systems up to 25 kW, effective 1 January 2027. On the same date, the Netherlands’ long-telegraphed phase-out of net metering (salderen) takes effect. For households across both markets, the message is identical: electricity you export to the grid will no longer be the money-maker it was.
This is not a surprise in either country. The Netherlands has been winding down salderen in steps since 2025, and the German reform has been under consultation for more than a year. What is new is that both land on the same day — which removes the last argument that “my country is different.”
The practical shift is from feed-in income to self-consumption. A household that currently sizes a system to export surplus should instead size a battery to catch that surplus and use it in the evening, when electricity is most expensive. The economics move from “how much can I sell” to “how much can I avoid buying.”
For buyers deciding this year, the timing matters. Systems installed and registered before 1 January 2027 keep their current export terms (in Germany, existing installations under 25 kW are not retroactively affected by the abolition). The Netherlands’ salderen already steps down each year, so delaying only reduces the benefit further.
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