Belgium (Flanders)

Overall assessment

Updated September 2024

The Flemish government has had an assessment of potential and barriers carried out on its behalf. However, it is still working on building out its enabling framework for RECs and CECs. In the meantime, some best practice can be observed at the local level, where municipal authorities have integrated local participation into public tenders for developing renewable energy projects on publicly-owned property. Furthermore, the Flemish Government has put in place Technical Assistance Hubs (TEAH) to support local actors through providing subsidies and other support in setting up an energy community, in particular those that focus on providing benefits to people in a situation of energy poverty. Energy Houses have been set up at the municipal level to provide information, financial, and other assistance to citizens and communities – among other types of collective initiatives - to reduce consumption, engage in renovations set up community solar PV projects.

At the Federal level, a support scheme to promote offshore renewable energy development includes specific provisions to ensure energy communities can participate in financing and ownership of offshore wind projects. A framework for energy sharing has been in operation since 2023. On behalf of the Flemish Energy Regulator (VREG), VITO conducted a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of energy sharing, concluding that under the existing regulatory and market framework, energy sharing does not provide a benefit to the grid.

Overall, the Flemish government still needs to develop further measures to create an enabling framework for RECs. Even while some positive policies are emerging for offshore and at a more local level, lessons from operation of the initial framework for energy sharing are still emerging. In 2024, the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA) carried out an evaluation of the existing legal framework for energy communities. The evaluation suggests a number of changes to the existing framework.

Detailed assessment

Assessment of obstacles and potential for development of ECs

The Regulator of the Flemish Energy and Gas market (VREG) and the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA), under the Flemish Minister of Energy, have a duty to carry out an assessment of potential and barriers. An assessment of existing barriers for collective activities was made by VITO on the request of the VEKA. A summary of this assessment is publicly available with an overview of five main barriers for collective activities:

  • Finance and Organization;
  • Market and Economy;
  • Technology;
  • Institution and Governance; and
  • Regulation

The report by VITO also provides some key recommendations.

Removal of unjustified regulatory & administrative barriers

Not addressed, although some suggestions have been made in VEKA’s evaluation of the regulatory framework for energy sharing and energy communities.

DSO duties around cooperation with ECs and facilitation of energy sharing

It is currently possible to conduct collective self-consumption at the building level, and energy sharing beyond building level by RECs and CECs. In accordance with technical regulations developed by VREG, the DSOs developed a Protocol covering management and notification of arrangements for sharing within an energy community, calculation and settlement of volumes, data exchange, monitoring, and handling of complaints. This Protocol was approved by VREG in 2023.

Fair, proportionate, and transparent registration & licensing procedures

Energy communities must register with VREG, who is responsible for publicly displaying all registered energy communities online. However, there is no criteria for who can register, and VREG does not perform any oversight to ensure that criteria are met. As such, there is a strong risk of corporate capture and abuse. In this way, the registration process is too easy, which creates a risk for abuse, as well as conceptual and legal confusion. A more rigorous screening process around compliance with the criteria to be registered as an energy community is necessary in order to ensure citizens can maintain trust in the energy community concept.

Incentives connected to network tariffs based on a CBA

Energy sharing is allowed, but this only affects the energy component of the bill, leaving network charges, taxes and levies, unaffected. No incentives are provided.

In 2023, Energy Ville conducted a CBA on behalf of VREG on incentives connected to network tariffs for energy sharing. The scenarios used for the CBA were based on a 10 year period (2025-2035). The CBA concluded that under existing conditions, energy sharing does not change the DSO’s investment needs. Factors considered include current individual capacity tariff structure, and the mismatch between off-take peak of individual consumers involved in sharing (winter, evening) and times of maximum PV production (summer, afternoon). Nevertheless, it also concluded that if PV installations are correctly sized, located, and there is sufficient flexibility to steer production within the collective activity, energy sharing could reduce grid losses.

If this assessment had been conducted based on a longer time period, the results may have been different, indicating a benefit to the grid (as was the case in a somewhat similar CBA conducted in the neighbouring region of Brussels). Furthermore, the CBA implicitly suggested that the existing framework for energy sharing is not ideal. Therefore, while the CBA adopted a negative conclusion, its should not be seen as an indictment against energy sharing’s potential benefit to the grid. After some revisions to the legal and regulatory framework, which will be necessary after further revisions to energy sharing under EU legislation, another CBA, based on a longer time period, should be conducted.

Non-discriminatory treatment as market participant

Not addressed in the transposition.

Accessibility to low-income & vulnerable households

Under the initiative of the Flemish government, Technical Assistance Hubs (TEAH) have been set up to support local actors in setting up an energy community. Municipalities and OCMWs (Public Social Welfare Centres) that have signed on to the Local Energy and Climate Pact (LEPK) and have pledged to integrate a social component into their climate commitments will receive assistance from a Technical Assistance Hub. This includes support for starting an energy community that also specifically aims to benefit people in a situation of energy poverty. The Hubs are managed by regional intercommunal associations and supported by the Flemish government through subsidies (3 million euros provided over three years for development of good projects). Those working around energy poverty and renewable energy stand a better chance of getting support. Signees receive a grant, with a target of 1 in 500 residents accessing the activities of an energy community.

Energy Houses, which have been set up by the Flemish Government, also assist household customers who meet certain income limits in installing PV installations. The Energy Houses provide guidance consisting of at least:

  • technical and practical guidance when requesting and comparing quotes for the installation of a photovoltaic installation;
  • administrative support when applying for premiums and loans to finance photovoltaic installations;

Guidance may also consist of facilitating connection to an energy community within the building, where the power from other PV installations is shared with families from the target group.

Not all the Energy Houses are up and running yet, and they may be merged with the TEAH. The ambition expressed in this initiative is very positive. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the objective of getting vulnerable households involved will concretely be achieved.

Tools to access finance

The Flemish Government decided in late February 2022 to reserve 10 million euros from its Climate Fund for new subcategories within the call “green power”, namely for solar panels on apartment buildings and within energy communities. This project call is organized twice a year to give additional incentives to the owners of apartment buildings and energy communities to invest together in solar panels.

Energy Houses, which can be set up by an individual or group of municipalities, can make 2% interest loans between 1,250 – 15,000 euros to individuals, non-commercial institutions and cooperatives to make investments in improving the energy efficiency of housing. For associations of co-owners, loans may not exceed 15,000 euros plus 7,500 euros per residential unit. The Energy Houses are not directly there to support Energy Communities. However, they could be helpful to groups of houses in the same building that set up an energy community and engage in renovations.

Tools to access information

Basic information on energy communities and energy sharing are available on the websites of the Flemish Government/VEKA, VREG and Fluvius. The Energy Houses are also specifically focused on providing citizens with advice on energy efficiency and home renovation measures. Specifically, they offer basic, structured information on:

  • relevant municipal, provincial, regional and federal energy policy measures;
  • energy premiums and loans, including loans from the financial sector;
  • energy renovations;
  • housing quality; and
  • renovation loans

The Energy Houses also provide guidance and support on:

  • applying for premiums and loans;
  • carrying out supplier comparisons and, where applicable, changing energy supplier;
  • requesting and comparing quotes for energy renovation works and renovation works in the context of housing quality;
  • the execution of energy renovation works and renovation works in the context of housing quality, and the provision of support in this regard, including services resulting from energy scans carried out by the energy house, aimed at providing guidance in the implementation of energy-saving investments; and
  • the interpretation of thermographic information, the solar map, the results after an energy scan and the energy performance certificate.

Energy Houses are not directly there to support Energy Communities. However, they could be helpful to groups of houses in the same building that set up an energy community and engage in renovations. Furthermore, a TEAH was set up at the end of 2023 to assist in setting up an energy community.

Regulatory capacity building for public authorities

Energy Houses are compensated 700 euros for each initiated guidance around helping household customers who meet the income limits in installing photovoltaic installations or joining an energy community within the same building.

NECP reporting on enabling frameworks

Not addressed in the transposition. Member States are required via the Governance Regulation (2018/1999) to report on their enabling frameworks for RECs by 15 March 2023.

Support Scheme adapted for RECs

Form of support for community production projects

Currently, there is a Green Certificate system in place. This consists of a feed in premium for renewable electricity and guarantees a certain return on investment.

RECs taken into account when designing eligibility/participation requirements

This Green Certificate system will be gradually replaced by competitive bidding/auctions, and auctions have already been established for (medium sized) PV and (small and medium sized on-shore) wind. Based on the decision of the Flemish Council of Ministers (25/02/2022), apartment buildings are included within the call system for mid-size PV systems from 25 kW to 5 MW, and there is a subcategory for CECs and RECs (VR 2022 2502 DOC.0205/2BIS). For the first call(s) a threshold will be set of at least one housing unit or member of the energy community per 5 kWp. After each call, the threshold, which is set by ministerial decree, is evaluated and if necessary adjusted.

Local Tendering policies favouring energy communities

Municipalities that look for developers of RES projects on their land and roofs that allow their citizens to invest and control the installations. For instance, the municipality of Geraardsbergen stipulates in a decision of the municipal council that it aims for at least 50% of direct participation in RES projects on its territory by means of energy cooperatives that comply with the ICA principles. The municipality of Eeklo explicitly included the requirement of direct participation of its inhabitants in the development of wind project on its territory.

Offshore wind tenders

The federal government has foreseen the possibility of citizen participation in the new offshore wind tenders in the Royal Decree of 12 May 2019, on the basis of the Electricity Act, article 6.3 9. As such, the Federal Government is currently developing a proposal pursuant to article 714 of the Civil Code, which grants equal right of use of commons (e.g. wind) to all citizens.