An extension of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 reactors is possible by a point of nuclear safety subject to an update of the installations, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (AFCN) said in a press release on Monday. So that “everything is in order for 2025“, planned year of nuclear phase-out, the government must take a “clear decision” in the first quarter, specifies the Agency which also insists on a “global approach” drawn up with all the actors concerned.
As provided for in the agreement reached on 23 December within the De Croo team following a night of negotiations, the FANC submitted its report to the government. With the DG Energy of the FPS Economy, it has established an overview and a schedule containing the actions to be taken and the decisions necessary to make “plan B“, i.e. the scenario of extending two reactors, “a success“, she clarified.
“If, on March 18, a report by the network operator Elia shows that the security of energy supply following 2025 is threatened without nuclear energy, the government wants to consider maintaining the nuclear reactors of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 in longer activity”, details the press release.
The government needs to make a decision
For the FANC, this is possible, provided that the installations are updated. “For everything to be in order in 2025, it is above all necessary for the government to take a clear decision in the first quarter of 2022, but also for a global approach to be developed with all the actors concerned”, we continue.
The FANC submitted its report to the government. With DG Energy, it has drawn up an overview and a schedule containing the actions to be taken and the decisions necessary to make “plan B“, i.e. the scenario of extending two reactors, “a success“, she clarified. “The implementation of this plan B would require making the necessary resources available among all stakeholders given the considerable workload that such a project would entail.“, concludes DG Energy.
Plan B should be activated from the second term of this year. It would involve immediately suspending the performance of the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM). This auction system should enable Belgium to find nuclear replacement capacities. It received the European green light but within the framework of the end of nuclear power in 2025 and not the extension of two reactors following this date. The CRM should therefore be reformed, a long-term operation that would take at least two years, or even three. An environmental impact study should also be carried out, a cross-border operation that is administratively heavy and time-consuming. The law should also be amended, a process that might take 6 to 9 months.
“The safety requirements are maintained, a certain flexibility in the implementation deadlines is possible. The safety requirements, which Belgian nuclear reactors must meet, are set by the Royal Decree of 30 November 2011”, recalls the press release once more.
