Solar power in Belgium reached an installed capacity of 9.9 GW at the end of 2023, an increase of 1.8 GW from 2022.
Belgium had 4,254 MW of solar power generating 3,563 GWh of electricity in 2018. In 2015 PV solar power accounted for around 4% of Belgium's total electricity demand, the 4th highest penetration figure in the world, although the country is some way behind the leaders Germany, Italy and Greece at between 7% and 8% of electricity demand. Installed capacity grew at an outstanding pace from 2008 until 2012, but growth then slowed to a steady pace before the large increases in 2022. Almost all of solar power in Belgium is grid connected.
Timeline
Year PhotovoltaicsPhotovoltaic Barometer 2012Photovoltaic Barometer 2010Photovoltaic Barometer 2011Photovoltaic Barometer MWp GWh Ref 2008 71 n.a 2009 574 488 2010 787 560 2011 2,051 1,170 2012 2,768 2,115 2013 2,983 2,352 2014 3,140 2,883 2015 3,252 3,04520163,5613,08620173,8463,14920184,2543,56320193,52820204,25920214,67820226,41320239,9007,193 Source: Photovoltaic Barometer
2007
Installed capacity of solar power increased drastically after 2007.Market growth of solar power in Flanders During 2009 the amount of solar installations quadrupled from 16,000 to 65,000. Residential and small installations had a combined power of about 220 MWp.Feiten en tendenzen 2009
2009
In December 2009, there were 35,500 solar power installations in the Flemish region, 17,000 in Wallonia and 7,000 in the Brussels Capital Region.Le nombre de panneaux solaires explose The number of installations in the Flemish region in particular was expanding rapidly at that time due to a favourable support measure expiring at the end of the year.50.000 Vlaamse gezinnen hebben zonnepanelen eind 2009
2011
At the end of 2011 the bulk of photovoltaic capacity was installed in the Flemish Region (88%), the remaining 12% was found mostly in Wallonia. The smaller Brussels-Capital Region had an installed capacity of 7 MWp.
2013
In 2013, Belgium's watt per capita distribution, the total installed photovoltaic capacity per inhabitant, amounted to 267 watts. This was the third highest per-capita figure in the European Union—and therefore also in the world at that time—just behind Germany (447 watts) and Italy (295 watts). In terms of the overall installed capacity of 2,983 MW, Belgium ranked tenth and belonged to the Top 10 leading photovoltaic countries in the world.provisional IEA-PVPS data later revised, see article growth of photovoltaics for additional sources.
2014
In the afternoon of 20 March 2014, a new record of peak electricity generation was achieved. According to the power supplier Eneco Energie, more than two gigawatts of electric power, corresponding to two full-sized nuclear power plants, were generated by solar PV and supplied more than 20 percent of the overall electricity consumption at the time.
2015
In 2015, solar PV per capita amounted to 287 watts, the third highest in the world after Germany and Italy, providing around 4% of Belgium's total electricity demand.
2016
Solar PV per capita grew to 302.8 watts, remaining the third highest in the EU.
2020
Between 2010 and 2020, renewable electricity production nearly tripled, rising from 5.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) to 23.4 TWh. Solar PV generation experienced significant growth as well, increasing its share of total electricity generation from 0.6% to 5.8% over the same timeframe.
2022
In March 2022, a EUR 1.2 billion initiative was launched to increase renewable electricity production. This initiative funds solar photovoltaic (PV) installations at national railway stations, equipped with electric vehicle (EV) smart charging, and on federal buildings. It also supports the development of large-scale floating solar PV projects. To further encourage the use of solar PV, the initiative includes a reduction in the Value Added Tax (VAT) on solar PV panels to 6% for the years 2022 and 2023. Additionally, it streamlines the process for obtaining permits and licenses for onshore solar PV projects.
OVAM, the public waste agency of the Flemish-speaking macro-region of Flanders, has created an online map of the region's 2,500 landfills. They cover a total surface area of more than 100 square kilometers. The agency said most of the sites are currently inactive. Only 2% of the region's waste is being brought to such locations.
Notable installations Pairi Daiza Brugelette Solar PV Plant is a 20MW solar PV power project in Hainaut, Belgium. Construction commenced in 2019 and it entered into commercial operation in 2020.
Kristal Solar PV Park is a 99.5MW solar PV power project located in Limburg, Belgium. The project construction commenced in 2018 and subsequently entered into commercial operation in June 2019.
Zelzate – LTi REEnergy Solar PV Park is a 15MW solar PV power project located in East Flanders, Belgium. The project was commissioned in November 2013.
In 2011, a above ground "tunnel", built to avoid having to fell trees for a new high-speed railroad, was covered with solar panels.High-speed Euro train gets green boost from two miles of solar panelsBelgium launches Europe’s first solar train
Trunsun Solar Park is a 10MW solar PV power project. It was commissioned in 2010 and is located in Limburg, Belgium.
Invictus-Antwerpen Solar PV Park is a 40MW solar PV power project commissioned in December 2009. It is located in Antwerp, Belgium.
In October 2009, the city of Antwerp announced that they planned to install 2,500 m2 of solar panels on roofs of public buildings, that would generate 265MWh per annum.Antwerpen wil 2.500 m² zonnepanelen plaatsen op stadsgebouwen
In 2009, the city of Leuven installed 1,810 solar panels on public buildings.Leuven plaatst zonnepanelen op 4 stadsgebouwen
Solar PV market by segment Installed capacity in Belgium by class size 2017 <10 kW62.89%10–100 kW17.71% >250 kW19.39% In 2017, nearly 63% of solar power installed in Belgium consisted of small systems under 10 kW, mostly residential rooftop solar PV. Larger systems over 250 kW accounted for almost 20% of the total.
Residential solar PV capacity According to a report on behalf of the European Commission in 2015, Flanders had an estimated 1,301 MW (666 MW) of residential solar PV capacity with 336,000 (232,000) residential solar PV prosumers in the country representing 7.1% (3.7%) of households. The average size of residential solar PV systems is estimated to be 3.87 kW moving to 2030. The technical potential for residential solar PV in Flanders is estimated at 7,327 MW and Wallonia at 3,753 MW. The payback time for residential Solar PV in Flanders was 14.7 years whilst in Wallonia it was 6.9 years as of 2015. Some of the advantages of small scale residential Solar include eliminating the need for extra land, keeping cost saving advantages in local communities and empowering households to become prosumers of renewable electricity and thus raising awareness of wasteful consumption habits and environmental issues through direct experience.
Flanders As of July 2012, there were already 42,644 photovoltaic installations in the Flemish region that had received green certificates.Energy regulator's bi-yearly statistics on installations receiving green certificates: mid2016 2015 2014 2013
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Installed capacity (MWp) by the end of the year Year Antwerp Limburg East Flanders Flemish Brabant West Flanders Total 2006 1.1 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.7 4.5 2007 3.8 3.7 3.6 3.3 4.2 18.5 2008 18.5 12.1 17.3 11.4 16.4 75.6 2009 91.4 47.0 102.4 54.8 89.3 384.9 2010 156.5 94.5 186.0 97.6 167.1 701.7 2011 357.6 329.8 340.1 185.9 362.8 1576.1 2012 464.9 421.3 429.9 234.4 449.1 1999.7 2013 477.7 427.4 465.8 243.1 464.8 2078.9 2014 490.3 436.7 477.1 249.5 472.9 2126.5 2015 513.9 455.4 491.0 258.0 485.8 2204.2 2016 543.4 479.6 524.5 276.7 512.2 2336.5 2017589.9512.0576.4304.9556.72539.9 2018643.2545.8639.6343.2610.82782.6 2019718.3657.1734.5390.8692.73193.3 2020884.4801.8914.4502.0877.53980.2 2021985.0849.91004.0562.9958.74360.4 20221144.3956.71164.4663.61093.95023.0 20231407.21104.91425.1817.81316.46171.3
Subsidies By 2011, it became clear that Flemish subsidies for solar panels had had a significant impact on the cost of electricity of households without a photovoltaic installation. An added cost of up to 148 EUR was charged annually. Flemish minister for Energy Freya van den Bossche admitted that subsidies were too high, especially for large-scale installations.Dossier zonnepanelen, nieuwsblad.be The guaranteed minimum price for electricity produced was reduced. For small photovoltaic installations(less than 1 MW), it was reduced from 330 EUR per MWh to 250 EUR per MWh by January 2012 with the goal of reaching renewable energy targets at a reasonable cost. This resulted in a rally which caused the number of installations to almost double from 20,514 to 37,355 in 2011. The minimum price was lowered further to 93 EUR per MWh from 2013 onwards.
Wallonia
Installed capacity (MWp) Year Total capacity 2008 14 2009 63 2010112 2011266 2012556 2013745 2014806 2015843 2016902 2017986 20181095 20191233 20201340 20211502 20221655
Brussels
Installed capacity Year Total capacity (MWp)Quantity (number of installations)Number of inhabitantsWp/person (or per capita solar)kWp/km2Number of householdsWp/households20060.04510188040.040.274975760.0920070.092910312150.080.535018240.17 2008 0.7630310473460.724.665095971.49 2009 4.54158510685324.2527.955137548.84 20106.10189310895385.6037.5452079111.71 20118.72217611190887.7953.6953186216.39 201220.602603113885418.09126.8653830438.28 201346.773031115463540.50287.9354164886.34 201449.013169116348642.13301.7654044090.69 201552.823321117517344.95325.2254267097.34 201658.023582118789048.85357.25545394106.39 201767.273861119160456.45414.18545145123.40 201891.364536119872676.21562.48547679166.81 2019130.8469761208542108.26805.57551243237.35 2020200.18109931218255164.321232.48555967360.06 2021213.74127281219970175.201315.96559260382.18 2022257.78173791222637210.841587.15563882457.162023283.84203311241175228.691747.58574603493.98
See also
Energy in Belgium Wind power in Belgium Solar power Renewable energy by country
References
External links