Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter has contradicted comments made by the party chairman of coalition member Open VLD, Egbert Lachaert, stating that Belgium’s nuclear exit plans will not be changed under the current government, Le Soir reported on Sunday.
The current Federal Government does not plan to abolish or fundamentally change the nuclear phase-out agreement law, first signed in 2003, Green party MP De Sutter said, seeming to rule out exceptional extensions to nuclear energy.
On Friday, the “Kern” ministerial council decided to study the possibility of extending two additional Belgian nuclear reactors, in addition to the two newest reactors (Tihange 3 and Doel 4) which are already set to be extended until 2026 and 2027, respectively.
On 9 January, the Federal Government and French energy group and nuclear operator Engie agreed to extend the lifespan of Tihange 3 and Doel 4 to ensure the security of electricity supply through the problematic winters of 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.
The new study would assess the feasibility of extending Doel 1 and 2, as well as Tihange 1, in order to create a strategic “nuclear reserve” of energy.
To scrap or not to scrap?
In an interview with VRT on Saturday, Open VLD party chairman Lachaert suggested that the government would extend the life of Tihange 1 by ten years, despite plans for the reactor to stop operating by 2025. To facilitate this, he claimed that the 2003 nuclear exit law would have to be “completely replaced” with a “new law with new deadlines.”
The Flemish liberals are also in favour of the construction of a new, small modular reactor (SMRs), which would also require further changes to the law. These comments appear to have drawn the ire of ecologist De Sutter, who rejected the Flemish liberals proposals on the air of VRT.
“We are doing research on these small modular reactors, but it concerns the plants that will be there in 2040 at the earliest. So we still have 17 years to amend this law. Before the closure of the old plants, the data contained in the law will have to be amended, but the law is not going to be overhauled or fundamentally changed during this government,” De Sutter said. The next Federal elections are scheduled for mid-2024.
Related News
- Belgium looks for further extension of nuclear reactors
- Tihange 2 nuclear reactor definitively shuts down on Tuesday
De Sutter says that Kern was also studying the possibility of conserving nuclear fuel during the summer to allow old reactors to last one more winter. High-voltage electricity transmission network operator Elia has expressed concerns that the electricity supplies could be problematic during the 2025-2026 heating season.
“There is no alternative for this winter… We can therefore only look in the direction of Tihange 1 and Doel 1 or 2 for this winter. Additional nuclear capacity could also be needed for 2026-2027,” Elia warned. De Sutter disagrees with this assessment, stating that this was “not a foregone conclusion.”
