85 Photovoltaic Power Plant Projects Qualify for Investment Aid

On Tuesday 6 June 2023, during a press conference, Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, and the Luxembourg Minister for Energy, Claude Turmes, presented the results of the call for projects for investment aid within the framework of the construction and operation of photovoltaic power plants in Luxembourg.

This aid, provided for by the “Solidaritéitspak 2.0” concluded during the tripartite meeting of 20 September 2022, aims to promote the self-consumption of electricity produced from photovoltaic solar energy among companies.

According to the ministries, out of 106 projects submitted, 85 projects from 75 different companies qualified for public intervention. The projects selected represent an investment of €44.4 million by companies and are supported by investment aid for a total amount of €16.1 million. Companies from a wide variety of business sectors and of all sizes took part in the call for projects.

These companies are planning to carry out the photovoltaic power plant projects with at least partial self-consumption in the next eighteen months. These plants will have a total capacity of more than 46 MWp (megawatt-peak).

Minister Fayot said: "The interest of all types of companies for this measure which helps them to produce, in whole or in part, their own energy shows that we have managed to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable economy. With such measures we are directing investments towards renewable energies and we are encouraging more and more companies, industrial, craft or in the service sector, to invest in their energy autonomy and in renewable energies.”

Minister Turmes said: "The result of this call for tenders is a success for the Luxembourg economy and for the climate: the companies present on our territory have demonstrated that they are ready to play an active role in the local energy transition. Solar energy is a clean source of energy, which helps the Grand Duchy to achieve its renewable energy development objectives and which is part of the solutions for breaking out of dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The trend of self-consumption is launched: in 2022, 793 installations of the 1,053 new installations in Luxembourg will [opt for] self-consumption.”

Given the success of this first call for projects for photovoltaic installations, with companies planning at least partial self-consumption of the electricity produced, a second call for projects has already been announced. It will be launched in July and will run until October 2023.

At the end of the press conference, the ministers discovered, during a visit to the Training Institute Sectorial Building (Institut de Formation Sectoriel du Bâtiment – IFSB), the various existing IFSB solar installations, as well as the location on the roof of the building meant to accommodate the photovoltaic installation which will benefit from investment aid within the framework of the call for projects.

One of the two directors of the IFSB, Alexis Sikora, highlighted: “We are very grateful for the support and the confidence given by the government in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint within the IFSB. As a company, we are determined to actively participate in the collective effort to locally produce energy with low environmental impact. Through our photovoltaic installations, we also want to be an incentive and support for companies in our sector to multiply these installations.”