Belgium holds the sad world record of unexpected closures of nuclear power plants according to Jean-Marc Nollet, head of the Ecolo-Groen group in the federal parliament. According to the newspaper 'Le Soir', which quoted Thursday a report of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), lack of maintenance on the part of Electrabel explains the continuation of the closure of reactor Doel 3.
"This new problem seriously raises the question of the reliability of our nuclear plants,” Nollet said.
He continued that “We hold the sad world record of unforeseen closures of the plants. While the world average is under 4%, the closure rate in Belgium is above 25%, far ahead of Iran (13.5%) and the Czech Republic (8.8%). Electrabel's liability is overwhelming and its negligence is matched only by its obstinacy in extending a technology as useless as it is dangerous.”
"For an energy system that wants to be 'stable', the overall unavailability of our seven reactors is beyond comprehension. The signal sent by our aging plants is clear: to prolong nuclear power is to prolong uncertainty and to take the risk of unmanageable incidents and blackouts. Belgium has to get out of nuclear power as quickly as possible and recent studies have shown that this is perfectly possible. We have to look to the future and security," Nollet added.
The Brussels Times
