Self-consumption

Most of the nation’s solar is in Flanders, which at the end of December had more than 3 GW of grid-connected PV. Wallonia and Brussels account for the remaining 1.1 GW and 83 MW, respectively. Although Belgian solar is still dominated by residential PV, a stronger stimulus for the market may come from the large-scale segment in the years ahead.

The French home improvement and gardening retailer has stolen a march on Ikea by offering PV panels and other renewable energy products in Spain.

The Junelight Smart Battery lithium-ion product has been designed for homeowners and has a storage capacity of up to 19.8 kWh.

Antonio Delgado, founder and CEO at AleaSoft Energy Forecasting has analysed the proposal for the reform of the European electricity market, which is still to be approved by the European Parliament. Below he discusses its most relevant aspects for the wholesale electricity market.

The Spanish government has proposed a Royal Decree with new self-consumption regulation which is expected to be approved in March or April. According to the new rules, power surpluses may be shared with other consumers or fed to the grid.

In Prémian, southern France, a blockchain project developed by Sunchain is providing six consumers with solar power and certifying transactions – which also involve local distribution system operator Enedis.

Researchers from Berlin’s College for Technology and Economics have determined a ‘system performance index’ for 16 residential storage systems. The index ranks systems according to economic efficiency. The compilers of the index say many manufacturers lack transparency regarding system performance.

The European Commission has given the green light to €200 million in public support that will be provided by the French governmnet for approximately 490 MW of renewable energy capacity expected to be deployed under the self-consumption regime. The scheme will be based on technology-neutral tenders.

A few days after the Spanish government introduced new rules for self-consumption and canceled the solar tax, the Spanish Parliament is now reviewing new provisions to reduce the time frame of the registration for a project under the self-consumption regime, while also simplifying bureaucratic procedures.

The Spanish Cabinet has approved a royal decree, which introduces a package of urgent measures to boost the country’s energy transition. It includes the already announced elimination of the “sun tax”, and other important measures, such as compliance with renewable energy objectives, electric vehicle adoption, reduced electricity prices, a social bonus for heating, consumer protection measures, and the extension of an electric social bond.