Is solar power growing in Belgium?

This growth trend is the same in Belgium. Installed solar power grew by 35 percent across the country in 2022, compared to a 14 percent increase in installed onshore wind and a stagnant offshore wind industry. In the sunniest months of 2022, solar supplied as much as 15 percent of Belgium’s electricity.

What is the largest power plant in Belgium?

This is as much as five large nuclear reactors: the current Belgian nuclear power park can still supply a maximum of just under 4,000 megawatts of power. All this means that on sunny afternoons, our solar plants form the largest power plant in Belgium.

What is Belgium's solar capacity?

The country’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached 4.82 GW at the end of 2019. Most of last year’s new PV additions were rooftop projects, but Engie also started up a 100 MW solar park. Belgium deployed 544 MW of new solar capacity last year, according to provisional data collected by renewable energy association APERE.

How many solar panels are there in Flanders?

There are almost 860,000 solar installations in Flanders against "barely" 150,000 in Wallonia and some 15,000 in Brussels. At peak production, this accumulated Belgian solar park produces more power than five large nuclear reactors. At present no Flemish authority has any insight into the devices that power this mass of solar energy: the inverters.

What percentage of Belgium's electricity comes from nuclear power?

In 2022, over 47 percent of Belgium’s electricity came from nuclear power and 27 percent from gas, according to data from Elia, the country’s transmission system operator. Despite the brief lease of life for Belgium’s nuclear power plants last year, policymakers now agree that this is not a viable long-term energy source.

How much electricity does Belgium use in 2022?

For context, Belgium’s total electricity consumption in 2022 was 81.7 TWh. The rise in wind and solar is not massive, but it means that in 2022, for four percent of the year, half of Belgium’s consumption needs were covered by renewables — double the figure for 2021, Elia says.