Call for Tenders Launched for Solar Power Plants

Luxembourg's Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning has launched a third call for tenders for photovoltaic power plants to stimulate the development of solar energy in the Grand Duchy.

In 2018, the Ministry of Energy and Regional Planning decided to launch calls for tenders for the construction and operation of new large-scale photovoltaic electricity production plants. In total, projects of around 44 MW (14 MW in 2018 and 30 MW in 2019) were accepted under the first two calls for tenders in 2018 and 2019. This year, the call for tenders is for plants for a total volume of 40 MW, which is equivalent to green and renewable electricity production for around 27,000 residents.

According to Luxembourg's Minister of Energy, Claude Turmes: “Solar energy is an energy of the future, and the latest figures have been clear proof that more and more residents are subscribing to it: the production of photovoltaic plants continues to grow". In 2019, the installed solar power capacity in Luxembourg reached a new record of 160 MW, covering the electricity needs of around 100,000 people. Between 2018 and 2019, three times more photovoltaic panels were installed than in previous years. A total of 762 photovoltaic installations were commissioned in 2019.

Although the development of photovoltaic installations was interrupted by the lockdown related to COVID-19 at the beginning of the year, the expansion resumed in full force during the second half of the year and the year 2020 looks promising. 311 photovoltaic installations, with a total capacity of 16.68 MW, have already been built so far. A total of almost 1,000 projects are still under way and Luxembourg is thus on the way to achieving its target of 11% renewable energies in national production.

The winners of the tender can benefit from a market premium contract, for a period of fifteen years, for the injection of the electricity produced. The deadline for submission of tenders is noon on 15 April 2021.

The call for tenders is divided into five lots: industrial land (power ≥ 500 kWp and ≤ 5 MWp); external building packages (power ≥ 200 kWp and <500 kWp); external building packages (power ≥ 500 kWp and ≤ 5 MWp); shadehouses or water basins (power ≥ 200 kWp and <500 kWp); shadehouses or water basins (power ≥ 500 kWp and ≤ 5 MWp).

The detailed terms of the call for tenders are described in a specification sent via email to anyone who requests them from: pv@energie.etat.lu.

In order to guarantee a certain planning security, the Ministry of Energy and Spatial Planning has decided to publish a multiannual calendar for solar calls for tenders.

The projects submitted during the first call for tenders in 2018 have almost all been completed. This first call for tenders divided the projects into two lots: industrial land; and impermeable surfaces, i.e. buildings and shadehouses. The minimum power of a power station was 500 kW, the maximum power 5 MW. A total of 13.85 MW could be achieved.