De jaarafrekening daalt naarmate het zonnepaneel meer stroom opwekt.

Naarmate means as, to the extent that, or in proportion as.

In this sentence, it connects two changing things:

• De jaarafrekening daalt = the annual bill goes down
• naarmate het zonnepaneel meer stroom opwekt = as the solar panel generates more electricity

So it expresses a relationship like:

• the more X happens, the more/less Y happens

A natural English pattern would be:

• The annual bill decreases as the solar panel generates more electricity.

Because naarmate introduces a subordinate clause in Dutch.

In Dutch subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb usually goes to the end. So:

• het zonnepaneel wekt meer stroom op = main clause word order
• naarmate het zonnepaneel meer stroom opwekt = subordinate clause word order

Notice that opwekken is a separable verb:

• main clause: wekt ... op
• subordinate clause: opwekt

That is a very common Dutch pattern.

Because opwekken is a separable verb.

Its basic infinitive is:

• opwekken = to generate, produce

In a normal main clause, Dutch often splits separable verbs:

• Het zonnepaneel wekt stroom op.

But in a subordinate clause, the parts stay together:

• ... dat het zonnepaneel stroom opwekt
• ... naarmate het zonnepaneel meer stroom opwekt

So opwekt is exactly what you should expect after naarmate.

Because zonnepaneel is a het-word in Dutch.

So the correct article is:

• het zonnepaneel = the solar panel

This is just something you have to learn with the noun. Dutch nouns are assigned either:

• de
• het

Even though jaarafrekening takes de, zonnepaneel takes het.

Because jaarafrekening is a de-word, and yes, nouns ending in -ing are very often de-words.

Breakdown:

• jaar = year
• afrekening = settlement, final bill, statement

Together:

• jaarafrekening = annual settlement / annual bill / yearly statement

So:

• de afrekening
• de jaarafrekening

This is a compound noun, and the gender/article is determined by the last part of the compound: afrekening, which takes de.

Because stroom here means electricity/power, which is being treated as an uncountable noun.

With uncountable nouns, Dutch often uses:

• meer water = more water
• meer geld = more money
• meer stroom = more electricity/power

So you do not say:

• meer een stroom ❌

You simply say:

• meer stroom ✅

It can mean both, depending on context.

Literally, stroom can mean current or flow, but in everyday Dutch it is also very commonly used for electricity/power, especially in practical contexts like energy use and bills.

So in this sentence:

• meer stroom opwekt

most naturally means:

• generates more electricity
• produces more power

not just creates more current in a technical physics sense.

Yes, in real life they often do, but Dutch can use the singular in a generic way.

So het zonnepaneel can mean:

• the solar panel
• a solar panel
• the solar-panel system, depending on context

This is similar to English, where singular can sometimes represent a general type or system. In a real-world sentence, you might also see:

• de zonnepanelen = the solar panels

But the singular here is grammatically fine.

Both are possible, but daalt is shorter and more direct.

• dalen = to fall, decrease
• lager worden = to become lower

So:

• De jaarafrekening daalt = The annual bill decreases
• De jaarafrekening wordt lager = The annual bill becomes lower

Both are natural Dutch. Daalt sounds a bit more compact and slightly more formal or factual.

Because the subject is singular:

• De jaarafrekening = the annual bill

So the verb must match that singular subject:

• de jaarafrekening daalt

Compare:

• De jaarafrekening daalt. = singular
• De jaarafrekeningen dalen. = plural

Likewise in the subordinate clause:

• het zonnepaneel ... opwekt = singular subject, singular verb

Yes. Dutch often expresses this idea with hoe ... hoe ... as well.

For example:

• Hoe meer stroom het zonnepaneel opwekt, hoe lager de jaarafrekening wordt.

That means:

• The more electricity the solar panel generates, the lower the annual bill becomes.

This is very close in meaning to the original sentence with naarmate.

A rough difference:

• naarmate can sound a bit more formal or written
• hoe ... hoe ... makes the proportional relationship more explicit

Both are good Dutch.

Yes. Dutch very often forms long compound nouns by writing them as a single word.

So:

• jaar
  • afrekening → jaarafrekening
• zonne
  • paneel → zonnepaneel

English often writes these as separate words or with a space:

• annual bill
• solar panel

But Dutch usually joins them into one word. This is one of the most important spelling habits to get used to in Dutch.