Batteries can respond to the grid’s needs faster than a French-speaking region of Belgium can account for them. Now, lawmakers in the southern region of Wallonia have approved a decree to resolve a mismatch between who must manage balancing data and who can actually collect it, supporting the energy storage industry and renewables.
In short, a tangle of rules needed fixing to establish who was responsible for measuring grid contributions. That blockage, more defined, stemmed from a mismatch between legal responsibilities and technical capabilities. Transmission system operator (TSO) Elia needed measurements at intervals shorter than 15 minutes to assess how assets respond to balancing needs, but rules placed responsibility for managing that data entirely on distribution system operators (DSOs), which currently lack the technical means to collect it at those intervals.
Regional regulator, the Walloon Commission for Energy (CWaPE), consequently blocked new grid-balancing contracts, while existing providers continued to operate under a transitional arrangement. The decree allows Elia and DSOs to agree on their respective data-management responsibilities. The change covers energy storage and batteries, industrial sites and flexible generation.
The regional parliament adopted the decree on October 14. The announcement did not specify an entry-into-force date, but new contracts can follow once it takes effect, according to the regional energy minister’s office.
Belgium is adding battery capacity at pace. Just over a year ago, one of Europe’s largest projects was commissioned by Engie and Sungrow in Belgium. In September, Engie also announced construction was underway on its 74 MW/296 MWh Coo BESS in Wallonia’s Liège province, with commissioning scheduled for early 2028.
Meanwhile, also in September, and as a guide to how quickly project capacities are growing, Giga Storage started construction on a 2.8 GWh Belgian BESS.
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