Almost four months after the fundamental decision to extend the life of Belgium’s nuclear power plants, the government in Brussels and the French energy company Engie have agreed on the first details. As the Belgian government announced on Friday, two reactors will be operated jointly by the two from 2026 for another ten years in a newly created joint venture. An associated framework agreement has now been concluded for this.
Negotiations on the details should therefore be completed by the end of the year and then submitted to the European Commission for approval. Due to the Russian attack on Ukraine and rising energy prices, Belgium decided in March to postpone the nuclear phase-out originally planned for 2025.
Negotiations between government and Engie group
Since then, negotiations have been going on between the government and the Engie Group about the modalities and complex issues of risk and burden sharing. The Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors will continue to operate after 2025. On Friday, however, Engie only spoke of a “potential expansion” of the operation of two nuclear power plants.
Doel 4 and Tihange last longer
In Belgium, there are a total of seven nuclear reactors in two power plants, which should actually be phased out completely by 2025. The first two reactors will be shut down in September and February next year and three more will follow in phases by 2025. Doel 4 and Tihange 3 would have to run even longer.
The plants that will go offline in the coming months are the reactors of Doel 3 and Tihange 2, which are highly controversial among German opponents of nuclear energy due to possible safety shortfalls. In 2012, experts found thousands of hairline cracks in the reactor pressure vessels in the two blocks. Despite massive criticism from neighboring countries such as Germany and Luxembourg, Belgium extended the life of the two reactors in 2015.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
