Renewable energy

The share of renewable energy in the gross final energy consumption (open definition) was 10,8% in 2023. This share has increased in recent years. In 2005 it was 1.9%. This figure not only includes domestic production of green electricity, heating and cooling, but also the use of biofuels for transport purposes.

Total gross green electricity production in 2023 amounted to 12,443 gigawatt-hours (open definition) (GWh). Since 2005, green electricity production has increased more than tenfold. The share of green electricity production in the Flemish gross electricity consumption was 23% in 2023.

The final green energy consumption for heating and cooling amounted to 9,354 GWh in 2023. That is 7.5% of the total gross final consumption for heating and cooling. 73% of green energy for heat applications was supplied by biomass-based installations in 2023. The remaining 27% came from heat pumps, heat pump boilers and solar boilers.

Biofuel consumption in transport was 5,845 GWh in 2023. This is a 16% increase compared to 2020 due to the increased blending requirement.

Installations of new solar panels and wind turbines further increased the share of solar and wind energy in green electricity production: from 15% in 2005 to 80% in 2023. Since 2016, more green electricity has been generated from sun and wind than from bioenergy. In 2023, there was a record growth in the transformation capacity of photovoltaic solar panels totalling 1.2 GW.

Production based on biological material - biomass, biogas and the organic fraction of household waste - accounted for 19% of green electricity production in 2023.