We are on the eve of an unprecedented energy crisis in Europe. It’s all hands on deck now. Or like energy specialist Javier Blas in Bloomberg writes: “We’re reaching the point of ‘no idea is too crazy’.” That Ukraine has recently started pumping nuclear power into the European electricity gridcertainly falls under this description. Even more crazy is that Germany and the Netherlands are turning to coal again. Emergency breaks law, so climate concerns are now giving way.
Apart from Russia, time is our greatest enemy. The new wind farm in the Princess Elisabeth zone, the Triton cable to the Danish wind farms, the Ventilus high-voltage line, the accelerated insulation of houses and the installation of heat pumps and solar panels, yes even the life extension of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors – none of these projects offers solace in the short term. Only later this decade, or even after 2030, will they be able to contribute to our energy independence.
But it gets worse. In the midst of a full energy crisis, Belgium will be drawing 2 gigawatts of CO2-free electricity capacity from the European grid next winter: the Doel 3 nuclear reactor in October 2022 and Tihange 2 in February 2023. Article 4 of the 2003 Nuclear Discontinuation Act stipulates that every nuclear reactor must be switched off 40 years after industrial commissioning. The loss of these perfectly functioning and performing reactors inevitably means a greater dependence on fossil fuels, be it dirty coal, Putin’s gas or American shale gas.
self harm
Those who are benevolent may see this as an unfortunate coincidence that the authors of the law in 2003 could not have foreseen. What was already a questionable principle at the time – which other energy generation is given an arbitrary and mandatory lifespan? – is totally obsolete today and is a major obstacle to kicking Putin’s gas. A nuclear reactor can easily produce clean electricity safely for 80 years, so twice as long as provided for by law. Once deactivated, these reactors are irretrievably lost. In the current energy crisis, that is willful self-harm. And that while our northern neighbors want to extend their nuclear reactor in Borssele again, possibly until 2053 (age: 80 years)! Every climate activist should applaud it.
The negotiations between the federal government and Engie today are only about extending the service life of the youngest two of our seven reactors (Doel 4 and Tihange 3) until 2035. Whether these negotiations will be successful remains to be seen. A timely prepared extension such as in the Netherlands would have been no problem at all, but due to the delay of our government, the time schedule is now very tight. Are all technical aspects completed in a timely manner? What about the public inquiry? What about the legal resistance of anti-nuclear activists à la Greenpeace? We may not be able to count on these two reactors again until the winter of 2027-2028. Totally irrelevant in the current energy crisis.
Instead of confining the negotiations to the two youngest reactors, the government should change tack and do everything it can to prevent the closure of Doel 3 and Tihange 2. How fast can these two nuclear reactors supply power again? Can they bridge the period until Doel 4 and Tihange 3 are operational again?
For the coming winter 2022-2023 we fear that it is already too late. Not only can the order and delivery of nuclear fuel quickly take a year, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) must also consider what adjustments are necessary for a temporary extension. However, if the government acts quickly, we can count on both reactors again in the winter of 2023-2024 (the winter before the elections) and the winters after that, at least until the last two reactors are ready again. Strictly speaking, this scenario also does not affect the coalition agreement, which only talks about a possible use of 2 gigawatts of nuclear power after 2025.
Gift for Putin
The authors of the nuclear phase-out law have put a heavy burden on our energy future, in at least two ways. With Article 3, they banned any form of nuclear energy generation after 2025. Even if the current government has reluctantly provided 100 million euros for a ‘feasibility study’ on non-water-cooled SMRs (small modular reactors), the Minister of Energy thinks it’s all just a “hobby for bored billionaires† With Article 4, the authors of the law prevented us from being able to rely on perfectly functioning reactors during this unprecedented energy crisis to wean off natural gas. A wonderful gift to Putin.
Dear Members of Parliament, please correct this historic mistake, best before the summer recess. Delete the nuclear phase-out law completely, with or without a change majority, and free our government from this bloc so they can negotiate freely with Engie, in the first place about the ‘temporary’ extension of Doel 3 and Tihange 2 , and then of the two youngest reactors. And why not from Tihange 1? In times of war and climate crisis, we cannot do without a single fossil-free and weather-independent energy source.
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