Flanders to reintroduce subsidies for rooftop PV

Four years after the expiration of green certificates for PV systems up to 10 kW, the authorities in Belgium’s Flanders region want to support solar again – but this time in the form or rebates. A new scheme will likely go into force in 2021, with up to €1,500 to be awarded per PV system.

Image: h080, flickr

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Zuhal Demir, the energy minister of the government of the Belgian region of Flanders. said last week on Twitter that subsidies for new rooftop PV installations will be granted in the form of rebates.

Demir retweeted an article from the Flemish newspaper De Tijd, in which the details of the program are revealed.

Under the new scheme, homeowners will be granted maximum rebates of €1,500 per PV system. A sum of €300 will be given per kilowatt installed for the first 4 kW, while another €150 kW will be awarded for an additional 3 kW. No more support will be provided beyond that threshold. 

The scheme is expected to expire in 2024, but subsidy levels will be reduced by a quarter each year, in order to avoid over-subsidizing rollout, Demir explained. Overall, the program's budget amounts to €35 million.

“Supporting solar energy for homeowners without getting a sunstroke,” the minister tweeted, noting the plan to gradually scale back the incentives.

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The Flemish government also plans to introduce a rebate scheme for rooftop PV installations ranging in size from 40 kW to 2 MW. Under this plan, which will receive a budget allocation of about €25 million in 2021, projects will be selected under some kind of tendering procedure.

Flanders recently used rebates to support storage linked to PV. The program started in August 2019 and will close at the end of next year, according to Engie-Electrabel, the largest electricity provider Belgium.

The rebate amounts to €250/kWh of installed battery capacity up to a maximum of €3,200 per connection point. No grants should exceed 35% of the cost of any system. For example, installing an 8 kWh battery would bring in a rebate of around €2,000.

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