Belgian parliament approves new nuclear capacity, life extensions

Belgium's parliament has reversed plans to phase out nuclear power completely, voting to allow construction of new nuclear capacity and to keep the country's two newest reactors online until 2045.

The May 15 vote was 102-8, with 31 abstentions, to keep the 1,094-MW Tihange-3 and 1,090-MW Doel-4 reactors in operation for an additional 10 years.

"The Federal Parliament has just turned the page on two decades of blockages and hesitation to pave the way for a realistic and resilient energy model," Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet said May 15.

The Belgian Nuclear Forum, an industry group, said in a statement May 15 that the vote "transformed the law that had held back the development of nuclear energy in our country for 22 years into a law in favor of nuclear energy."

As part of a coalition government agreement with the Green party in 2003, Belgium banned construction of new reactors. The agreement also called for closure of all reactors in the country by the end of 2025, a deadline later extended to 2035.

A new Belgian coalition government formed Jan. 31 announced in February that it would extend operation of Tihange-3 and Doel-4 to 2045 as well as allowing construction of new nuclear capacity. This intention was made legally binding by the May 15 vote.

Belgian voters in 2024 national elections backed political parties in favor of nuclear energy, at the expense of anti-nuclear Green politicians. Disruptions to fossil fuel supplies following Russia's February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, together with concerns that reliance on renewables is pushing up energy prices and increasing power grid instability, have reduced voter opposition to nuclear power.

The vote shows the Belgian government knows "only a combination of renewable and nuclear energy, both low-carbon, can meet our growing energy demand without continuing to rely on high-CO2 fossil fuels," BNF said.

Belgium now needs an "energy policy with a long-term, realistic, and fact-based strategy" the group added. "This is only a first step in the revival of nuclear power."

Tihange-3 and Doel-4 are the last two power reactors operating in Belgium. The 1,056-MW Doel 3 was shut 23 Sept. 23, 2022, followed by the 1,055-MW Tihange-2 which closed Jan. 31, 2023. The 454 MW Doel-1, 454-MW Doel-2 and 1,009-MW Tihange-1 are all scheduled to shut before the end of 2025 and presently frequently operating at below their nameplate capacities. The May 15 vote does not change the schedule for closure of these units.

Engie moves away from nuclear

The reactors are 89.8% owned by Electrabel, the Belgian unit of French company Engie, with the Belgian Luminuas subsidiary of French state-owned nuclear company EDF holding a minority 10.2% stake.

Engie and the Belgian government in 2023 signed an agreement to extend the operations of Tihange 3 and Doel-4 to 2035. In January, Engie CEO Vincent Verbeke stated it would be "unthinkable" to keep the two reactors operational beyond this date.

Engie has since 2021 focused new Belgian investments on renewable energy and natural gas, turning away from nuclear power and in January 2025, Engie's CEO Vincent Verbeke stated it would be "unthinkable" to keep the two reactors operational beyond this date.

BNF statistics showed that on May 18, nuclear power provided 55.3% of the Belgian power mix, with wind, solar and other renewables together providing 27.5%.

Mark Nelson, a nuclear engineer and managing director at the Chicago-headquartered consultancy Radiant Energy Group, said in a post on X May 15 that the Belgian plan to get rid of nuclear power would have been "the most destructive planned phaseout in history, killing off 50% of national electricity supply in a three-year period."

Nelson said he welcomed the "official, legal" abolition of the phase out, but warned that finding a new operator for after 2035 or making Engie rethink its reactor closure policy would be "a nasty battle."