2023-09-04 05:29:27
From January to July 2023, 505 megawatts of new solar panel installations were registered in Flanders. That is more than three times more than the 150 megawatts last year. This is reported by Flemish Minister of Energy Zuhal Demir. “We have clearly shifted up a gear and are well on our way to achieving our renewable energy target,” says the N-VA minister.
Solar panels are the largest source of green electricity in Flanders. Figures show that our solar panels can generate about 9 percent of the total annual demand for electricity, enough to power almost half of Flemish households. In July 2023, no less than 505 megawatts of solar energy capacity was added in seven months. The year before that was 150 megawatts.
“We see that after the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, many Flemings have put up a panel. In uncertain times, they opted for an extra source of energy supply on their roof. Such an investment reduces the costs in their electricity bill and the demand on the market,” says Minister Demir.
Further increase expected
With the 505 extra megawatts, Flanders is already achieving the target of 450 megawatts set by the Flemish government for the whole of 2023. Minister Demir hopes to reach the milestone of 1,000 extra megawatts this year. The number of extra megawatts will also increase in the coming years due to the obligation to install solar panels for companies that consume a lot of energy.
Unfortunately, the large number of new installations may also cause additional inverter failures locally at the beginning of next year. If much more power is injected into the grid than is demanded, this will lead to a too high grid voltage: the inverter of the solar panels will then switch itself off.
According to Minister Demir, it is up to network operator Fluvius to prevent these problems. The N-VA minister therefore took the initiative to urge Fluvius, its chairman and all its individual directors to prevent problems as far as possible, to handle complaints quickly and to carry out the necessary work. The minister believes that additional efforts are necessary.
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