The federal government has included the possibility of constructing a new nuclear power plant in its review of Belgian energy policy. According to information obtained by Belga news agency the review is "completely theoretical" and takes into account different assumptions. The restricted ministerial council will look into the methodology of the exercise at its meeting today (12 January).
At the end of last year, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) refused to endorse the energy pact. According to N-VA the exit of nuclear power in 2025 foreseen by the government did not allow
at this stage to meet the objectives of the pact as regards the supply of electricity and the maintenance of energy prices.
The federal government therefore invited Gent University professor Johan Albrecht (Itinera) and the Planning Bureau to quantify the impact of different scenarios. According to the newspaper La Libre, the construction of a new nuclear power plant in 2040 is among the scenarios studied.
Contacted by the newspaper, the cabinet of the Federal Minister of Energy Marie Christine Marghem neither confirmed nor denied the information.
The construction of a new nuclear power plant was part of N-VA's electoral program, but the party did not put the proposal on the government's table. In 2015, N-VA confirmed with its government partners the exit of nuclear power in 2025.
The Brussels Times
