August 27, 2022
11:23
The personnel of the nuclear power plants demand that the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors be extended, in an open letter addressed to the government.
The personnel of the Belgian nuclear power plants also ask that the reactors Goal 3 and Tihange 2 be extended, is it specified in a open letter to the governmentwhich, according to a union source at the VRT, “benefits from a broad support“among the staff.
Faced with the energy crisis, the federal government has already decided to negotiate with the operator Engie the life extension of the most recent nuclear reactors in Belgiumthose of Doel 4 and Tihange 3. But according to the personnel of the power plants, Doel 3 and Tihange 2, older reactors, can also benefit from an extension of their lifespan. However, Doel 3 is due to close at the end of next month and Tihange 2 in February next year.
“No one seems to realize that with the impending closure of Doel 3 and Tihange 2, we are liquidating two gigawatts of low-CO2 electricity. An incomprehensible scenario in the midst of war, energy supply and financial crisis,” reads the open letter from the staff. “Every kilowatt-hour produced locally does not have to come from Russia. Every kilowatt hour produced with little CO2 does not harm the climate.”
Not an option
The extending the lifetime of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors is not an option, repeated Engie once more on Saturday, following the open letter sent by the staff of the power plants. The operator of nuclear sites in Belgium says he understands “the emotion that accompanies the closure of nuclear power plants” through the voice of his spokesperson, but “Doel 3 and Tihange 2 will close as planned”. “The dates of closure are determined by law and the authorizations for the operation of the plants end on these dates. This has been fixed for a long time and we have been preparing for this for a long time,” she added.
Engie had already declared the extension of Doel 3 and Tihange 2 impossible last month for reasons of security and of technical feasibility. At the time, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (AFCN) had not yet received a request for a risk analysis from Engie or the government.
According to the authors of the letter, “exceptional times call for exceptional measures“and the government should ask the AFCN as soon as possible to assess a possible extension of Doel 3 and Tihange 2.