The Court of Audit, responsible for external control of the budgetary, accounting, and financial transactions of Belgian governments, has reviewed the Flemish plans for renewable energy.
The institution also examined the financial support for renewable energy. Between 2014 and 2023, almost 13 billion euros in support for renewable energy were granted in Flanders.
And 11.2 billion of this was passed by grid operators and electricity suppliers to the rest of electricity consumers, i.e., households and businesses. Of that total support, only 1.8 billion euros, or 13%, came from the Flemish budget.
The Court of Audit also states that it is “uncertain” whether these plans are “sufficiently ambitious to enable Belgium to meet European expectations.” It also questions Flanders’ ambition regarding wind energy.
Special effort is required for wind energy
The EU aims to reach 45% renewable energy by 2030. In Belgium’s plans – the first ones did not satisfy the European Commission, and it remains to be seen whether the figures from the recently finalized National Energy and Climate Plan will suffice – Flanders has committed to generating 34,259 GWh of renewable energy by 2030. This is barely more than the Walloon region, with 33,472 GWh.
But according to the Court of Auditors, it is downright “uncertain whether the intentions of the Flemish government in the Flemish Energy and Climate Plan 2025 are sufficiently ambitious to enable Belgium to meet European expectations.”
In the new Plan, Flanders is increasing its target for renewable energy production by 54% compared to 2020, a year, for clarity’s sake, in which Belgium achieved its 13% renewable energy target.
Achievable target
According to the Court of Audit, this target is “achievable,” but for wind energy, “a special effort will be required.” “The incomplete implementation of the wind plan makes the realization of the intended increase in wind turbines, and thus the increase in wind energy production, uncertain,” it says.
Local opposition to new projects, such as environmental objections, and the complexity of licensing procedures, for example, make it challenging to roll out the wind plan quickly.
However, the Court of Audit also sees several other potential bottlenecks. About green heat, “collective heating networks and local heating plans are still insufficiently developed.”
€11 billion for green electricity
Financial support for renewable energy was also examined. According to the Court of Audit, almost 13 billion euros in support were granted in the period 2014-2023. Of this, nearly 11 billion euros went to green electricity, especially to the much-discussed and socially unequal system of green energy certificates.
“This system was not cost-efficient and led to the over-subsidization of certain types of renewable energy, especially PV or solar panel installations,” the institution notes. The Flemish government has since phased out this support, except for wind turbines.
The Court of Audit also notes that there was “relatively little support” for green heat, “even though more than half of Flemish energy consumption goes to heat and the potential for green heat is enormous.”
Not sufficiently socially equitable
The Court of Audit also calculated who paid the 13 billion euros in subsidies. And the result is striking. For example, 1.8 billion euros was included in the Flemish budget. But the vast majority was passed on to electricity consumers by network operators and electricity suppliers, mainly through higher electricity bills.
As a result, low-income families paid a proportionally larger share of their budget for electricity. In contrast, large consumers or wealthy households with solar panels were sometimes able to profit generously from the subsidies themselves.
In response to criticism from the opposition that the Flemish government is passing on the bill for energy policy to citizens, the ruling party N-VA argues that “renewable energy is only interesting and good for the bill if it can be achieved cost-effectively and therefore without support”.
