After months of discussion, the final parameters governing the Belgian CRM (Capacity Remuneration Mechanism) have been decided upon. This support scheme must guarantee system adequacy while compensating for the retirement of 5.9 GW of nuclear plants.
First insights:
- In order to limit the costs of the scheme as much as possible, the minister suggests to contract a lower volume that initially foreseen by Elia
- The total contracted volume has been allocated between the Y-4 ( 73%) and in the Y-1 ( 27%) auction
- There is a gap of 1.9 - 2.8 GW between the current available capacity (minus nuclear) and the volume which will be contracted in the Y-4 auction. This results in a need for new capacity.
- The mechanism is expected to trigger an important change in the Belgian energy mix from mainly nuclear towards gas-fired power generation
One question remains:
- Will this design result in the low carbon power system that we all strive for? Said differently, will those newly built gas fired units not stand in the way of the real transition towards a system of renewable energy balanced by demand side management?
