Belgium (Wallonia)

Overall assessment

Energy communities are mentioned in the Wallonian Recovery and Resilience Plan. An objective of creating a call for proposals to create 50 energy communities is set, while a dedicated budget line will support this.

Detailed assessment

General: allocation, definition, transposition

Specific allocation for energy communities

10 million euros are earmarked for the objective of establishing 50 energy communities.

Definition of energy communities in line with EU legislation

While there is no specific reference to the EU Directives in the mentions of energy communities in the Wallonian Recovery Plan, the Region has moved forward with a highly satisfactory transposition process, as indicated in REScoop.eu's transposition tracker.

Proportionality of share of total fund allocated to energy communities

Considering the size of the region, and that the total objective of "Promoting Renewable Energy" under which the energy community measure is nested is budgeted at 49 million euros, the 10 million euro allocation can be considered highly adequate.

Availability of tailored financing tools

This information is not yet available.

Link to a wider scope of activities and objectives

Link between energy communities, building renovation and energy efficiency

Energy communities are not linked to building renovations in the Wallonian Recovery Plan, as the scope of their proposed activities is not defined.

However, the promotion of biomass and geothermal energy are indirectly linked to the rollout of energy communities.

Recognition of energy communities under multiple objectives

Energy communities are framed under the objective of promoting renewable energy, and indirectly under the objective of promoting cross-stakeholder dialogue around the renewable energy transition.

Transparency and inclusiveness

Holistic strategy to provide financing across different levels of project development

This information is not yet available.

Transparency of the design and communication of the schemes and measures

This information is not available.

Selection criteria and the prioritisation of various social components

This information is not yet available.

Decentralised tender process

This information is not available.

Existence of procedures to facilitate the participation of energy communities in open calls

No such procedures are explicitly in the Wallonian Recovery Plan.

Stability and predictability of the programme through time

The program is expected to be stable, however not enough information is available at this stage.