Tihange nuclear power plant: Belgium reverses nuclear phase-out
In Belgium, the nuclear phase-out was actually enshrined in law in 2003. But the debate has dragged on for years. Parliament has now made a clear decision.
The Belgian parliament voted overwhelmingly to end the nuclear phase-out. 102 MPs voted in favor of extending the operating life of existing reactors, while eight voted against. There were 31 abstentions. The right-wing government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever also plans to build new reactors. Belgium currently has two nuclear power plants with seven reactors – although three have already been taken offline.
In Belgium, the nuclear phase-out was enshrined in law in 2003. Originally, the remaining reactors at the two nuclear power plants in Doel near the city of Antwerp and Tihange were scheduled to be shut down in 2025. But the debate has dragged on for years.
In light of concerns about energy security and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Belgium's government decided in 2022 to postpone its nuclear phase-out by ten years. One reactor at each of Belgium's two nuclear power plants was to remain online until 2035.
In Germany, the Belgian nuclear power plants from the 1970s and 80s continue to be a source of controversy. Defects, such as dilapidated concrete components, have been discovered in reactors in the neighboring country on a number of occasions. The North Rhine-Westphalian city of Aachen and the German federal government, among others, have repeatedly called for their decommissioning in the past. The Tihange power plant is located about 60 kilometers from Aachen.
Germany decided to phase out nuclear power in 2002, and the last nuclear power plants were shut down in 2023.
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