Electricity prices 2026: is solar becoming profitable in Luxembourg?
The Luxembourg kilowatt-hour has been through two rollercoaster years: the sharpest rise in the European Union in 2025, then a cut announced for 2026. Through it all, one variable has changed for good: the reference price against which a solar panel is judged. Let us do the maths.
What happened to prices in 2025?
Between the first half of 2024 and the first half of 2025, electricity prices rose by 31.3% in Luxembourg — the sharpest rise in the EU, according to Eurostat. The causes: the end of the energy price cap (the "shield") and higher network costs. The country ended up in the upper European range, around €0.30/kWh for households — behind Germany (€0.3835/kWh) and Belgium (€0.3571/kWh).
And in 2026: a real cut or an announcement effect?
A real cut, but a subsidised one. Suppliers lowered their tariffs in early 2026 by about 10% over the year for an average household consuming 3,900 kWh a year, taking the bill from about €1,115 (2025) to some €1,006 (2026), according to figures relayed by Virgule. The mechanism: the state covers part of the network charges — €150 million presented to a parliamentary committee in late 2025 — and procurement costs have fallen on the European market.
Two caveats. First, even after the cut, the kWh remains well above its 2024 level. Second, the cut depends on a state subsidy voted year by year — not on a structural easing of network costs.
What would your roof produce, with the figures to back it?
Two vetted installers calculate capacity, annual output and Klimabonus grants. Free.
What does that change for photovoltaics?
Every kilowatt-hour you use yourself is one you do not buy at ~€0.30. That is the heart of the payback calculation — and it stays favourable even with the 2026 cut. On top comes public support: the Klimabonus 2026 (guichet.public.lu) subsidises self-consumption systems using the formula Ppv × (1,155 − 1,155/35 × Ppv). In practice: about €4,950 for 5 kWp, about €8,250 for 10 kWp, with a cap of €10,000 reached from 15 kW upwards. A battery can add up to €2,250 in extra support. Eligible invoices run from 4 January 2026 to 31 December 2029.
One last point, often forgotten: the solar resource. 2025 recorded 2,052.5 hours of sunshine at Findel — the 6th sunniest year since 1947, nearly 250 hours above the 1991-2020 normal, according to MeteoLux. Luxembourg is not Provence, but recent years produce more than the historic averages many simulations still rely on.
So, profitable or not?
The calculation rests on three figures specific to your home: the usable roof area and its orientation, your self-consumption share (at home during the day, an electric car, a heat pump), and the price paid per kWp. That is exactly what a serious quote must set out — estimated annual output, calculated Klimabonus grant, payback period in years. Two comparable quotes let you check that those three figures hold up.
Electricity and solar: your questions
Does the 10% cut in 2026 make solar less attractive?
Only marginally. The kWh remains around €0.30, well above 2024, and the 2026 cut rests on a state subsidy renewed year by year. The self-consumption calculation is still based on a high price.
What grant applies to a 5 kWp installation?
About €4,950 under the 2026 Klimabonus self-consumption formula (guichet.public.lu). The calculator at aides.klima-agence.lu refines it by commune.
And if I sell the electricity instead of using it?
A guaranteed feed-in tariff exists for systems under 30 kWp within the Klimabonus framework. But at today's kWh price, self-consumption pays better than exporting — your quotes should compare both scenarios.
Is a battery worth it?
It raises the self-consumption share and attracts support capped at €2,250 (from 9 kWh of capacity). Whether it pays depends on your consumption profile — get it costed, do not assume.