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In my home country we have a great energy policy “being sarcastic”. We import more energy then we export energy.
If you compare the below figures with the surrounding countries (The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France) respectively you will see that Belgium has a enormous energy gap. It increased with 221 % compared to the year 2000. Basically the huge amount of import is the reason why Belgian households and businesses are paying to much for their energy bills. We pay at the moment 130 € / month, you need to take in to account that in 2010 we only paid 70 € (increase of 60 € …). Another problem is that Belgium doesn’t retrieve renewable energy from Germany which has a huge amount of wind energy, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and France have no problems retrieving energy from Germany. But in Belgium there is no electricity line that connects Belgium to Germany, it would take more then 10 years to approve the constructions of the electricity lines… Then another problem is that we have a enormous windmill park at our little coast, but we are not able to canalize it through our weak electricity net. This will result in losses of business who are dependant on the energy supply and families that are receiving huge energy bills. They claim that they are working on it but still it takes to long to approve the projects while in the Netherlands they are building energy plants because they are faster in making crucial decisions. I guess this is the result of our long undertaking political situation.
Following figures will give you a view on the neighbour countries electricity policy. The Netherlands: (twice the size of Belgium) Increased with 126 % compared to the year 2000; Germany: increased with 108% compared to the year 2000; Luxembour: Increased with 107% compared to the year 2000; France: Increased with 270 % compared to the year 2000.
Definition of Electricity – imports: This entry is the total imported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
Source: Belgian electricity import
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Belgium 7,750 9,055 11,645 15,820 15,820 16,700 14,700 14,600 15,780 15,780 17,160 17,160
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Netherlands 12,200 22,407 22,946 21,490 21,490 20,900 20,800 21,400 23,140 23,090 15,450 15,450
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Germany 38,560 40,500 44,500 44,000 44,000 45,800 45,400 48,200 46,130 42,870 41,670 41,670
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Luxembourg 6,400 6,201 6,458 6,389 6,389 6,300 5,287 5,287 6,847 6,847 6,830 6,830
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
France 3,950 5,000 3,737 4,200 4,200 3,000 6,200 8,000 10,780 10,800 10,680 10,680
If you compare the below figures with the surrounding countries (The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France) respectively you will see that Belgium has a enormous energy gap. It increased with 221 % compared to the year 2000. Basically the huge amount of import is the reason why Belgian households and businesses are paying to much for their energy bills. We pay at the moment 130 € / month, you need to take in to account that in 2010 we only paid 70 € (increase of 60 € …). Another problem is that Belgium doesn’t retrieve renewable energy from Germany which has a huge amount of wind energy, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and France have no problems retrieving energy from Germany. But in Belgium there is no electricity line that connects Belgium to Germany, it would take more then 10 years to approve the constructions of the electricity lines… Then another problem is that we have a enormous windmill park at our little coast, but we are not able to canalize it through our weak electricity net. This will result in losses of business who are dependant on the energy supply and families that are receiving huge energy bills. They claim that they are working on it but still it takes to long to approve the projects while in the Netherlands they are building energy plants because they are faster in making crucial decisions. I guess this is the result of our long undertaking political situation.
Following figures will give you a view on the neighbour countries electricity policy. The Netherlands: (twice the size of Belgium) Increased with 126 % compared to the year 2000; Germany: increased with 108% compared to the year 2000; Luxembour: Increased with 107% compared to the year 2000; France: Increased with 270 % compared to the year 2000.
Definition of Electricity – imports: This entry is the total imported electricity in kilowatt-hours.
Source: Belgian electricity import
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Belgium 7,750 9,055 11,645 15,820 15,820 16,700 14,700 14,600 15,780 15,780 17,160 17,160
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Netherlands 12,200 22,407 22,946 21,490 21,490 20,900 20,800 21,400 23,140 23,090 15,450 15,450
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Germany 38,560 40,500 44,500 44,000 44,000 45,800 45,400 48,200 46,130 42,870 41,670 41,670
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Luxembourg 6,400 6,201 6,458 6,389 6,389 6,300 5,287 5,287 6,847 6,847 6,830 6,830
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
France 3,950 5,000 3,737 4,200 4,200 3,000 6,200 8,000 10,780 10,800 10,680 10,680