Ghent, in the Flanders region of Belgium

The Belgian region of Flanders deployed more than 646.19 MW of solar in 2024, according to preliminary data shared by sector federation ODE Vlaanderen.

While down on the region’s record year for solar deployment in 2023, when over 1 GW was installed, ODE Vlaanderen told that last year’s figures are expected to exceed 2022 numbers, when around 673 MW were installed. However, it will take a few more months before the distribution system operator is aware of all installations.

Earlier this month, Flanders reached its 1 millionth solar panel installation, taking its cumulative capacity to just under 7 GW.

The preliminary deployment figures for 2024 show that installations under 10 kW slowed down last year, with around 281 MW compared to 801 MW in 2023. However, larger-sized installations in 2024 kept pace with the previous years’ figures, with the added capacity of installations between 250 kW and 750 kW increasing slightly.

Speaking to pv magazine at InterSolution in Ghent last month, Wannes Demarcke, a policy analyst for sector federation ODE Vlaanderen, said one of the key drivers of Flanders' solar market last year was the region’s solar mandate that stipulated that by June 30, 2025, companies in Flanders with an annual consumption greater than 1 GWh must install solar panels. The installation deadline has since been extended by nine months, but a binding contract is still needed by the original June deadline.

Demarcke said this will remain a key driver in the coming years, alongside obligations to meet solar targets after the recently-formed Flemish government increased the 2030 target for added solar from 8.9 GW to 10 GW. The new government has also said it will investigate if the solar mandate for businesses can be broadened to a larger target group and will consider a mandate for carports on certain types of parking lots.

With the residential market slowing down, in part due to the large number of existing installations, Demarcke said some attention will switch towards the “difficult cases” for installations, such as deploying solar on multi-owned apartment buildings, of which over 900,000 people live throughout the region.

“Both the newly formed national government and the Flemish government will make legislative changes to support this, such as approval with a simple majority (rather than two thirds) or applying a partial exemption of taxes for energy sharing,” said Demarcke.

The Flanders residential solar market is also adjusting to becoming a subsidy-free market after subsidies for new installations ended in 2024, which Demarcke said is the biggest reason for the decline of the market. He added that the last 400,000 net metering consumers are set to receive a digital meter in 2025, after which their business cases will mainly rely on self-consumption.

Electricity grid operator Fluvius is working with consumers to help make the switch, advising that the role of the digital meter is crucial for an electricity grid with growing solar, heat pump and electric cars.

Demarcke said the shift brings an incentive for self-consumption, which could lead to consumers looking to repower existing systems by adding storage, energy management or more solar panels to their systems, which in turn should help reduce the number of negative electricity prices which were on an upward trend in the last year.