Belgium's 2023 solar capacity additions hit 1.8 GW

Belgium installed around 1.8 GW of new PV systems last year, according to new figures from the Belgian association Energie Commune, which was formerly known as Association belge pour la Promotion des Energies Renouvelables (APERe).

In 2022, 1,060 MW were installed, followed by 850 MW in 2021, 1,010 MW in 2020, 544 MW in 2019, and 367 MW in 2018.

Approximately 1.4 GW of last year’s newly deployed capacity was installed in the Dutch-speaking macro-region of Flanders. Around 426 MW was deployed in the French-speaking region of Wallonia. The metropolitan region of Brussels installed another 11 MW.

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

Energie Commune said the new statistics are based on provisional data and that another 200 MW of PV capacity could still be missing, which means growth for last year may be even higher.

“The rise in energy and electricity prices had a strong impact on Belgium, as most European countries, thus motivating some to invest in an installation photovoltaic,” the association said. “The three Regions benefited from a temporary reduction in the VAT rate to 6% for the purchase of a photovoltaic installation installed on residential buildings that are less than 10 years old.”