Belgian electricity production at lowest level in six years

According to newspapers L’Echo and De Tijd, last year, for the first time since 2016, less renewable energy was produced than in the previous year. Because nuclear energy was scaled back and gas-fired power stations operated minimally, total power production in Belgium fell to the lowest level in six years.

2024 was also a year with exceptionally much rain but little wind. So, wind turbines on land and at sea generated 11 percent less electricity than in 2023. Solar energy, on the other hand, reached a record, accounting for 12 percent of Belgian electricity production. However, the 15 percent growth compared to 2023 was insufficient to compensate for the lower wind energy yield.

‘Import is cheaper’

Belgian gas-fired power stations produced the lowest level in ten years. While around a quarter of Belgian electricity consumption was usually generated with gas, this was only 14 percent last year.

Importing from France and the Netherlands was cheaper. “We could have produced that electricity ourselves, but it was simply cheaper to get it from abroad,” energy expert Joannes Laveyne explained in De Tijd.

Belgium imported 12.6 TWh net from France, making it a net importer of electricity for the second year. Two years ago, Belgium exported even more electricity than it imported. In 2024, gas still accounted for 17.6 percent of the electricity generated in Belgium. In 2023, that was still more than a quarter.

In 2023, local production still represented 98 percent of Belgian consumption. In the years before – during the energy crisis – there was even a surplus of electricity, with net exports to neighboring countries.

Last year, only 88% was ‘homemade’ and 12% was imported from abroad. Nuclear energy still accounted for 42 percent of Belgian power generation in 2024, but production is declining annually.