Belgium’s transmission and distribution system operator has said it plans to allow solar panels and home batteries with a power outlet to connect to the grid from May 2025.
September 18, 2024 Patrick Jowett
Image: Patrick Robert Doyle, Unsplash
According to ESS News.
Synergrid, the Belgian federation of electricity and gas transmission and distribution network operators, will soon allow the deployment of solar panels and home battery energy storage systems with a power outlet on the country’s electricity distribution networks. This measure applies to ready-to-install solar panels and mobile batteries that function like standard household appliances and can be purchased from authorised distributors.
Synergrid is thus adapting the C10/11 standard, a legally binding Belgian regulation that defines the technical requirements applicable to electricity production installations connected to the distribution network. The current version prohibits plug-in devices.
A public consultation on the amendment of the C10/11 standard was launched at the beginning of the year. In July, the revised version was submitted for approval to the regional energy regulators in Belgium (VREG, CWaPE and Brugel in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels). Synergrid said that once the regulators have approved the amended C10/11, it will be published, probably in November, and will enter into force six months later, in May 2025.
Once published, manufacturers will be able to have their mobile devices certified by Synergrid, ensuring their compliance with Belgian regulations for the use of connected devices after May 2025. Synergrid was pleased that the approved equipment will provide safety for owners by ensuring correct internal installation and automatic disconnection in the event of a power outage. “Manufacturers, importers and distributors of these devices must place safe devices on the market, accompanied by clear instructions on their operation, including how to connect them to the customer’s electrical system,” the organisation said. “The owner of the equipment must be informed of the risks involved, particularly if several devices are plugged into the same socket.”
Belgium’s cumulative installed solar capacity exceeded 10 GW by the end of 2023. Analysts said 337 MW of new solar installations were likely added in the first half of this year, with the residential market remaining relatively stable.
Translated by Marie Beyer.
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