Page 58 - European Energy Innovation - summer 2019 publication

58 Summer 2019 European Energy Innovation
BELGIUM: RENEWABLES
100% renewable energy in
Belgium? We’ve got the power.
By Benjamin Wilkin (pictured), APERe
Initiated before 2000 with
Today in Belgium (mid 2019)
Solar PV
Onshore Wind
Offshore Wind
Biomass (wood pellets)
Heat from waste incineration
Hydropower (run-of-the-river, mainly)
the optimisation of waste
management, the significant
growth of renewable energy in
Belgium took place in the first decade wind turbines (including 274 offshore
of 2000, with the European obligation
to set up supporting schemes for
renewable electricity. Onshore
wind power came first, followed by
solar PV (dramatically in 2009-11).
Simultaneously, Belgium became a
pioneer in offshore wind power, with
the phased construction of several
parks in an area whose equipment
will be completed in 2020. A good
start… But how will we get to 100%
renewable energy?
Limited Hydropower
Hydroelectric generation is relatively the winter electricity mix of Belgium.
limited in Belgium because it
depends mainly on streams. In
March 2018, the installed capacity
of 109MW was spread over 154 sites,
mainly in Wallonia (106.5MW). 83%
of this power is run-of-the-river, the the electric power required in windy
remaining 17% coming from dams. In
2017, the annual production was
240GWh.
Although limited, hydropower is highly producing 37TWh per year.
reliable. The generation is almost
constant from autumn to early
summer, making for an excellent
base for a renewable energy mix and
4,000MW
2,119MW
1,448MW
758MW
145MW
108MW
a good addition to wind during cold
weather.
Going with the wind
Wind power is constantly increasing
in Belgium. Our territory counts 1162
turbines), for a power of 3190MW
that generate 6.5TWh annually,
whose nearly half is produced by the
offshore turbines.
In the North Sea, new parks should
bring the total number of offshore
wind turbines to a minimum of 409
and a maximum of 433 by 2020,
bringing the power from 1,448MW
to nearly 2,280MW. A new offshore
concession (spring 2018) is expected
to double the installed capacity and
to grant offshore wind a major role in
According to the observed load
factor of 40% and a nominal power of
4000MW in 2026, offshore wind farms
will provide a little less than 30% of
cold weather, or 18% of the electricity
consumed annually by Belgium.
Realistically (and ambitiously),
10,000MW could be installed in 2050,
Onshore wind could easily reach
9,000MW in 2050. With a load factor
of 22%, the onshore wind farms could
produce 45% of the electric power
needed in cold windy weather, or 21%
of the Belgian annual consumption.
Altogether, on- and offshore wind
power could produce 40% of the
electricity consumption in 2050,
based on ongoing projects and
realistic assumptions. With a more
ambitious scenario (10,000MW
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