The government and French company Engie agreed to extend the lives of nuclear reactors Doel 4 and Tihange 3 to help mitigate the ongoing energy crisis.
Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors – Belgium’s most recent nuclear reactors – were to stop their activities from 1 July 2025 and 1 September 2025, respectively, according to the 2003 Belgian law on nuclear phase-out.
But following month-long discussions about extending operations, a decision was taken to extend the life of both reactors for ten years from 2026.
“Important decision for energy security today. Firstly, with this decision, work for the extension of the two most recent reactors can start tomorrow. Secondly, with this decision, we take our energy destiny back into our own hands,” Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference.
Extending the reactors so they can operate for another 10 years aims to ensure Belgium does not face electricity shortages.
Without these reactors, the 2026-2027 winter would be difficult, and it would have been the same for the following five to ten winters, the prime minister said this summer.
And indeed, for several politicians and organisations like 100TWh and the Forum nucléaire belge, the development of renewable energies and the establishment of gas-fired power plants to compensate for the closing of nuclear reactors would have been insufficient to make it up the lost production capacity of two nuclear reactors.
Moreover, uncertainties caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the resulting energy crisis, and the uncertainties surrounding the French nuclear park, as many reactors in France are currently shut down for repairs, were also taken into account when making the decision.
Energy Minister Tinne Van Der Straeten also highlighted during the press conference on Monday that this decision would allow for “less volatile prices” on the electricity market and “greater energy independence”.
“Belgium is well secured for the coming winters […]. Today we are an energy exporter, and this will also be the case for the coming winters. […] The decision-making centres were no longer in Belgium [and with today’s agreement,] our country regains control over a very important element of its energy supply,” de Croo told LN24.
The agreement also provides for the immediate undertaking of environmental and technical studies required to obtain the authorisations related to the extension.
In exchange for the extension, Engie obtained a cap on the cost of nuclear waste management, La Libre reported. However, the exact amount has not been revealed yet.
Before the closing of Doel 3 (1006 MW) in September last year, the total capacity of the Doel power plant was 2,935 megawatts (MW), compared to 3,008 MW for Tihange.
Together, the two only power plants in Belgium accounted for 50% of the country’s annual electricity consumption and were equivalent to 42 billion kWh per year.
Doel 4 is Doels’ biggest reactor with a capacity of 1,039 MW, as Tihange 3 is also Tihange’s biggest reactor with a capacity of 1,038 MW.
(Anne-Sophie Gayet | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
