Energy Minister Zuhal Demir will make it possible from 2022 to donate or sell the power from your solar panels that you do not use to your family, friends or neighbors. Even if you have a digital meter.
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The Flemish government decided on Friday to make energy sharing possible for residents of apartment buildings from the beginning of next year. From July 2022, owners of solar panels will be able to sell or donate electricity to whomever they want.
In concrete terms, according to Energy Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), investing together in solar panels on the roof of an apartment building will be interesting. “From 1 January, the solar energy generated on the building can be distributed among all residents of the apartment building,” says Demir.
But energy sharing will also become interesting for citizens, schools, organisations, local authorities and SMEs from July 2022. They can all become a supplier of green energy for a family member, friend, colleague, entrepreneur, neighbour. Wherever he lives. “The direct sale from person to person is called peer-to-peer. Buyers of that sale only need to report this to Fluvius. The latter then takes on the practical arrangements and ensures that the information flows through to the suppliers, so that the electricity bill is automatically adjusted,” explains the minister. Behind the scenes, the Flemish Energy and Climate Agency (VEKA), the VREG and grid operator Fluvius are preparing the technical regulations and the practicalities, so that mutual energy exchanges can take place correctly and automatically. “That is more complex than it seems, because it involves a lot of IT and market processes,” says Demir.
more social
“Those who do not want any compensation for their generated energy, for example because the electricity goes to a family member with financial difficulties, can even make the electricity available ‘for free’ at the moment it is reprocessed via such peer-to-peercontracts. With this reform, the energy market in Flanders will become more social than ever before. Both energy sharing and person-to-person sales have an effect on the electricity supplied on the invoice and make it possible to reduce those costs.
From 2023, energy sharing will be further extended to real energy communities. Anyone who unites in an energy community will be able to invest in a group in an installation for green energy, insulation, a large neighborhood battery or, for example, communal charging stations for electric cars.
Digital meters
According to Demir, electricity suppliers have known for some time that this is coming. “This is the evolution of the market. In itself, this has not yet led to major protests from the power suppliers, who are getting more competition.”
Energy sharing must of course also serve other purposes than just making the energy market more free and social. “We also hope to achieve the target for renewable energy in Flanders with energy sharing.” And there is also something else. “This is a very tangible advantage of the digital meter. Because you can only share energy with such a smart meter.”
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