Solar panels in Brussels: is your installation still paying you what it should?

This article is about the Brussels-Capital Region only. The rules for solar panels are different in Flanders and Wallonia, so what you read about those regions does not apply here.

In Brussels, solar panels bring value in three ways: the power you use yourself, the power you send to the grid, and green certificates. The first two happen on their own. The third does not: you have to act to receive and sell your certificates.

The meter no longer runs backwards

For years, Brussels solar owners had their production offset against their consumption. Brugel, the Brussels energy regulator, explains that this system, called compensation, was completely abolished in November 2021 (Brugel).

Today, what you take from the grid and what you send to it are counted separately. Brugel describes the result this way (Brugel):

Power you use yourself at the moment the panels produce it lowers your bill directly. It is the part you never have to buy.
Power you send to the grid is bought by your supplier at the price of energy only, without network costs and taxes. So it is worth less than the power you buy.

So running the washing machine or dishwasher in the middle of the day usually matters more than what you get for the power you send out.

Green certificates: you must give your meter reading

A green certificate is a reward from the Brussels Region for the green electricity you produce. Your installation receives certificates for 10 years. For a home installation up to 36 kWp, that period starts on the date of the electrical inspection report (the RGIE/AREI report) (Brugel).

The certificates are based on the reading of your green meter: the separate meter that counts what your panels produce. Not the inverter (the box that converts your panels' power for the house), and not the normal Sibelga meter. You enter that reading on Sibelga's Green Meter website, four times a year, but only during the last month of each quarter: March, June, September and December. A reading sent outside those months is not counted, but your production is not lost; you receive more certificates the next time (Brugel). The next window is December 2026.

The certificates then land in your account with Brugel. They do not expire (Brugel).

Selling your certificates

Certificates in your account are worth nothing until you sell them. You have two options (Brugel):

On the market, all year round, to an electricity supplier or intermediary. You agree on the price yourself. Brugel publishes a list of buyers but does not help with the price or payment.
To Elia, the high-voltage grid operator, at a guaranteed minimum price of €65 per certificate. In 2026 this was only possible from 1 to 30 April, with payment by 30 June 2026. A sale after 30 April 2026 is processed, but paid only in June 2027 (Brugel).

Check this yourself

Your green meter: do you know which meter it is, and where its number is? It appears in your RGIE/AREI report and on Green Meter.
Your readings: log in to Green Meter and check when you last entered a reading.
Your certificate account: how many certificates are waiting, unsold?
Your 10-year end date: when was your inspection report dated? After 10 years, you send a final reading. The value of using your own power continues after that (Brugel FAQ).
Your contract: does your energy contract pay you for the power you send to the grid, and at what price?

Before you decide

Before selling certificates on the market, compare the offer with the €65 guaranteed by Elia, and check when you will actually be paid. Be careful with anyone who offers to "manage" your certificates; ask exactly what they keep. If something seems wrong with your meter or installation, that is work for a qualified installer, not a do-it-yourself job.

Want an independent look at your meter readings, your bills and your contract? Tell us about your home.