For installations with a generation capacity of less than 10 kW, the feed-in tariff will rise 36% to €0.165/kWh and all installations below 500 kW are set to benefit from an improved regulatory framework.
The Luxembourg government has raised feed-in tariffs for PV power generators.
Smaller solar systems are the main beneficiaries of the new regime, which came into force on April 23. A new FIT category for rooftop systems with a generation capacity of up to 10 kW has been created, and will receive a tariff that has been raised from €0.121/kWh to €0.165.
Another tweak to the guidelines will permit all systems with a capacity of up to 30 kW to cumulatively benefit from the incentives offered under the “PRIMe House” scheme as well as receiving FIT payments. The PRIMe House program is intended to encourage the construction of durable housing and sustainable energy renovation. Between March 2014 and March 2019, some 1,950 PV installations were subsidized via the initiative, to the tune of €9.6 million.
The FITs for all PV installations with a capacity of up to 500 kW, guaranteed for 15 years, have been increased by 11-36% and a further new category has been added, for installations between 200 kW and 500 kW in capacity used by cooperatives and civil organizations. Eligible systems in that bracket will receive a FIT of €0.14/kWh.
Another aspect of the overhaul of the incentive regime involved simplifying procedures for the installation of PV or to upgrade solar assets.
The requirement a single connection point could host only one installation has been removed, and, on a given surface, a new installation may be built next to an existing PV system, provided the existing installation is more than two years old.
Luxembourg’s Ministry of Energy said it will publish a solar cadastre – real estate record – by early next year which will contain details of built-up areas which could host PV in the grand duchy. The document will be developed with the help of state-owned energy transition entity myenergy.
Businesses will also benefit from further measures of support for renewable energy which are yet to be defined, said the government, which added, awareness campaigns about the new measures would be carried out.
Heavily dependent on electricity imports from France and Germany, Luxembourg reached an installed PV capacity of 150 MW last year, with around 30 MW of newly installed capacity added in 2018, according to recent statistics published by the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Long term plan
Renewables met around 8% of Luxembourg’s power needs last year. The European micro state’s goal is to raise that figure to 11% in 2020. In May 2017, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure presented an energy strategy aimed at increasing solar power generation capacity to 2.5 GW, and that of renewables overall to 4.8 GW, by 2050.
In February, the government outlined its Climate and Energy Plan, which aims to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement in terms of CO2 reduction and energy efficiency by 2030.
The renewable energy regime launched in April, for which the final details will be worked out this year, aims to ensure 23-25% of the grand duchy’s power comes from renewables by 2030. The government had stated an ambition of hitting 70% in 2050 with the eventual aim of decarbonizing its energy supply entirely.
Source: pv magazine
