The government of Wallonia – the French speaking region of Belgium – has postponed the start date of the region's new Qualiwatt incentive scheme for residential PV. The new scheme will replace the Solwatt green certificate (GC) scheme, which expired in March 2014. According to local newspaper La Libre, the Qualiwatt scheme will now come into force on Jan. 1, 2015, instead of Sept. 1, 2014. Local energy minister Paul Furlan said that the delay was needed to ensure that regulatory provisions related to certifications and installer accreditation were in place prior to launch.
Under the new program owners of residential PV systems up to 10 kW will receive a deduction on their electricity bill that is proportionate to their household income. The benefit, which will be granted for a period of 5 years, will amount to between €500 and €600 ($687 and $824) per year. According to former Wallonian energy minister, Jean-Marc Nollet, the new program will enable an average return on investment of 8 years and a 5% annual rate of return over a period of 20 years. Local energy regulator CWaPE will review the incentive rate every year and will change the rate based on the market development and on PV module prices.
The Qualiwatt program will have an installation cap of 12,000 PV systems per year and will prioritize PV systems that use modules produced or assembled in Europe. Wallonia had 645.6 MW of PV systems up to 10 kW installed under the local incentive program Solwatt as of the end of February, according to the latest CWaPE report. Since then, the energy regulator has not provided updated statistics on PV development. Each of Belgium’s three regions has their own individual incentive schemes, and each region has its own regulations for solar.
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