belgium
belgian pv market
The strong growth of the Belgian market in 2009 was well above expectations. With 292 MW installed, this places the country sixth in the global ranking. With its specific institutional context (energy is a regional competency shared among three Regions), Belgium should be treated as at least two (for the two main Regions) separate markets with specific incentives; the Flemish market alone reached 251 MW in 2009, benefiting from a well-designed Green Certificates scheme (which actually works as a Feed-in Tariff), combined with additional tax rebates and electricity self-consumption. Well-developed in the household and commercial segments, the Flemish market is nevertheless expected to decrease in 2010 due to the foreseen tariff decrease. In Brussels and in the Walloon Region, the market reached 3 MW and 38 MW, respectively – restricted to household systems lower than 10 kW mainly - sustained by the same tax rebates and self-consumption schemes as in Flanders, with a complex yet generous Green Certificates Trading scheme. In this case, the price of the certificates varies on an exchange market, constrained by minimum and maximum prices. Other financial incentives in Wallonia were suppressed in 2009, amid stop-and-go discussions among policy makers that have slowed down the market.
EPIA expects the total market to range between 240 MW and 280 MW of newly installed capacities in 2014, while the 2010 market should reduce to a more sustainable 140 to 200 MW.
