SUPPORTING POLICIES FOR OCEAN ENERGY
NATIONAL STRATEGY
Belgium has to increase its share of renewable energy production to 13% of the total consumption by 2020. This share has been growing steadily in the last year. Main incentives aim at wind energy (onshore and offshore), biomass, biogas and solar energy. The offshore wind energy concessions in the Belgian North Sea will have the biggest impact on renewables, leading up to a total of ± 2200 MW of offshore wind power installed by 2020.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
A green energy certificate market is implemented to support renewable energy production with Tradable Green Certificates (TGC). For each renewable technology, a stakeholder analysis is put forward to determine the level of support. A generic business case is constructed with input of the developer, the technology supplier, investors and banks. This exercise will determine the cost of the renewable electricity and the matching value of the TGC in €/MWh. The business case is frequently updated in order to align the new TGC support with the technology evolution.
MARKET INCENTIVES
The Belgian maritime spatial plan foresees an area for the exploitation for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. Thisv area has been divided into 7 zones for which the Government has given concessions for alternative energy project development. The last concession (±55 km from the coast) was granted in July 2012 to the temporary trading company Mermaid. This Mermaid concession zone aims at the installation of 232 to 266 MW wind and 5 to 61 MW wave energy (rated power). This hybrid park has a water depth of 35-40 m and an average wave climate of 6.5 kW/m. The project is planned to be finished by 2020.