Belgium: Wallonia publishes new incentive levels for Qualiwatt program

CWaPE, the energy regulator of Wallonia – the French-speaking region of Belgium – has revealed the level of the incentives of the Qualiwatt program for the first half of 2018.

The program enables owners of PV systems not exceeding 10 kW in size to have a deduction on their electricity bill that is proportionate to the household income.

For the period from January 1 to June 30, the deduction will range from €96.9 per kW installed to €147.8 per kW installed, depending on the energy provider.

The regulator has also published a new methodology to calculate the level of the incentives. This new methodology, the CWaPE claims, ensures an investment return in a eight-year period, with the incentives being granted only for the first five years after a project is connected to the grid.

The CWaPE reviews the incentive level periodically and changes the rates depending on how the local solar market has developed, and also takes into account PV module prices.

Wallonia reached a cumulative capacity of 916 MW at the end of 2016, according to provisional statistics released by Belgian renewable energy association Apere. Most of the region’s PV capacity comes from PV systems up to 10 kW installed under the incentive programs Solwatt, which expired in 2014, and Qualiwatt. In 2016, new PV additions totaled 64 MW.

Each of Belgium’s three macro-regions has its own individual regulatory framework for solar and renewable energies.