Belgian Minister for Climate and Energy, Paul Magnette, has called on CREG, the electricity and gas regulating commission, to have greater control over spiraling electricity and gas prices. In 2010 the price of gas rose by 19%, while electricity saw an increase of 7.5%.   Despite the liberalization of the market in 2007, prices have [...]

In June 2010 an application to erect 3 wind turbines in Eeklo, East Flanders, was submitted for approval. However, the plans have now been rejected after a public inquiry conducted by the local council as the local citizens voiced a host of concerns. Residents were concerned about noise disturbances and the shadows that the wind [...]

Flemish Energy Minister, Freya Van den Bossche, has stated that administrative procedure for the allocation of wind farm permits is a far too lengthy process and believes that approval procedures can be simplified. Last year 10 new wind turbines came into operation resulting in 20 MW of installed capacity. The Minister also went on to [...]

Last Monday, at meeting of the Committee for Energy to the Walloon government, the discussion focused on the photovoltaic industry in the region. It was also an opportunity for players in the industry to recall Belgium’s energy targets; 13% consumption of electricity from renewable energy by 2020. The problem for the Belgian energy industry, however, [...]

Beginning in 2012, all new homes, schools, offices and other buildings will have to be constructed in a more energy efficient manner. The decision was taken by the Flemish government last Friday in conjunction with the EU directive for new buildings. According to European rules, all new buildings in 2021 should be carbon neutral. This [...]

Plans were announced this week to have electricity production coming from wave and tidal power within the next 3 years. The project, which is known as FlanSea, will receive an investment of €2.4 million from the Flemish agency for Science and Technology Innovation (IWT). The project proposes the development of a wave energy convertor suitable [...]

The renewable energy consultancy group, 3E, has warned the Flemish government against proposed cutbacks of green electricity subsidies for solar energy. Managing Director, Geert Palmers, has expressed his concerns that the decision to reduce subsidies for solar energy of PV (Photo Voltaic) may stall the industry. According to 3E’s analysis, the first large PV projects [...]

A new EU study has shown that as the EU develops its plans to use more and more biofuels, 69,000 square miles of additional land will be required, worldwide. As biofuel crops are grown on agricultural land, farmers are having to seek additional land for their crops, often by cutting down rainforests. Therefore the cultivation [...]

 Infrabel, the managing group of Belgium’s railway network has taken a step forward in their bid to reduce the production of greenhouse gases through the use of renewable energy. They announced plans to install up to 16,000 solar panels along various routes, most notably along the roof of 3.4km tunnel linking Amsterdam and Paris.  An [...]

Recently, Belgium has committed itself, in front of the European Commission, to producing 13% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. After months of discussions, a resolution was finally found and the ‘Belgian Plan’ was formed. The plan sets out the necessary steps that Belgium will have to carry out in order to achieve [...]