On Tuesday 7 May, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a Belgian aid scheme to support the production of renewable electricity in Wallonia. The overall budget for this aid scheme will be €755 million for the period from 2024 to 2028.
The measure will involve issuing ‘green’ energy certificates (photovoltaic, wind, hydro, solid biomass, biogas, biomethane and geothermal energy) to renewable electricity producers, who will be able to offer them on the market or sell them to the local Belgian transmission system operator, Elia, at a guaranteed minimum price.
Certificates are issued for a period of 10 to 25 years, depending on the technology.
The European Commission stresses that this will enable these producers to obtain additional revenue, on top of the market price for electricity.
The number of certificates to which a producer is entitled per MWh of renewable electricity produced will be set administratively and calculated on the basis of reference values that will be revised annually by the Walloon authorities.
This aid scheme will run until 31 March 2028. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)