The Russian war in Ukraine and the desire of European countries to get rid of dependence on Russia in terms of energy imports disrupt the supply strategies of some countries. Although Belgium planned to phase out nuclear power in 2025, on Friday Belgium decided to delay the deadline by ten years. The coalition government of Alexander de Croo actually decided to extend the life of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors until 2035, while the nuclear phase-out plan approved in 2003 called for the closure of all power plants by 2025, while at the same time accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources.
“Everyone knows that there is a war going on in Europe,” Alexander de Croo explained at a press conference after a long government meeting. “We choose confidence in troubled times. “We have decided that the two reactors can be extended by ten years,” the Belgian Prime Minister said.
In fact, Belgium is little dependent on Russia in terms of gas supplies, but more dependent on oil (about 40%).
Engie will explore the possibility
The two reactors, the most recent in the country, which were commissioned in 1985, are operated by Engie, so it must give its consent. Headache for the French group. As recently as March 7, Katherine McGregor, Managing Director of Engie, explained to Les Echos that the closure of the group’s two Belgian reactors, scheduled for October 2022 and February 2023, had been prepared and that “a return to it is unlikely to be realistic.” Today, the French group remains just as reserved, but promises to “contribute to this reflection by exploring with the government the possibility and conditions for implementing the envisaged solutions.”
“The decision to extend Tihange 3 and Doel 4 creates significant security, regulatory and implementation constraints and presents a risk profile that is more unpredictable and larger than a private operator’s normal business,” he added.
“The chosen scheme should ensure a structural alignment of stakeholder interests, as well as an adequate distribution of risks and opportunities.”
Tihange 3 is a 1,038 megawatt reactor located on the Meuse River in the province of Liège in eastern Belgium. Doel 4 is a 1039 megawatt reactor located near Antwerp. At present, nuclear energy accounts for about 40% of the electricity produced in Belgium. To make up for the shutdown of its seven reactors, the kingdom, in particular, planned to build new gas-fired power plants to ensure the success of its energy transition. But permission for one of them, planned for the Flemish municipality of Vilvoorde, has not yet been issued. In early November, the Minister for the Environment of the Flemish region indeed denied permission to Engie, the operator chosen at the end of the auction system developed at the federal level. However, this plant is a key facility in the government system to ensure the security of supply. According to a government source interviewed in December, the alternative would be to select another unit not selected in the auction if it already has a permit. The agreement of the seven coalition partners also provides for an investment of about 100 million euros in research into next-generation nuclear power, namely small modular reactors (SMRs), presented as “safer”.
The promise of phasing out nuclear power has been enshrined in Belgian law since 2003. It was supposed to cost 14 billion euros.
The rise of renewable energy
The Belgian government also announced a “growth” in renewable energy through “additional investment” in offshore wind, hydrogen, solar and sustainable mobility. The Greens have made phasing out nuclear power in 2025 a condition of joining a politically fragile seven-party coalition hard-won in 2020, more than a year after an inconclusive election. But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and the sharp rise in energy prices, that side signaled that it was willing to consider an alternative scenario.
Mass protests against two old reactors – Tihange 2 and Doel 3 – took place in Germany and other neighboring countries, as experts found thousands of tiny cracks in the reactor vessels in 2012.
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latribune.fr
March 19, 2022, 15:11