Energy company Engie has successfully fired up its new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Flémalle, near Liège, for the first time, completing extensive tests of all essential systems. The first ignition marks the transition from the construction phase to the operational testing phase.

By November, the plant is expected to add approximately 875 megawatts of additional electricity production capacity to Belgium’s grid, a timely boost as five nuclear reactors are scheduled to close this year. With an estimated annual production of 4,4 to 5,3 TWh, the facility can supply electricity to over one million Belgian households.

“Ideal to complement other renewable energy”

The power plant, representing an investment of 500 million euros, will mainly be used as a “shock absorber” – stepping in to meet peak demand and stabilize the grid now that nuclear capacity is declining. Only Doel 4 and Tihange 3, Belgium’s two remaining nuclear reactors, are planned to remain operational until 2035.

In the long term, the power plant located on the Meuse River could also be powered by renewable gases such as green hydrogen, biogas, or synthetic methane.

Engie, which runs Belgium’s nuclear plants, says it has designed the facility to integrate with future hydrogen supply chains and carbon capture projects. “In addition to our other production and storage infrastructures, the Flémalle power plant will play a strategic role in the Belgian energy mix”, says Vincent Verbeke, CEO of Engie Belgium. “Thanks to its flexibility, it is ideal to complement other renewable energies.”

CO2-neutral by 2030?

When construction began in 2023, hundreds of climate activists from Code Rood (Code Red) blockaded the site for 80 hours, protesting the climate impact of a new fossil-fuel plant.

Engie, however, maintains the plant will be among the most efficient of its kind, with an efficiency rate above 63%, 5 to 10% higher than the plants currently in use.

This is made possible in part by the world’s largest heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), engineered by John Cockerill, which captures waste heat from the gas turbine to produce additional electricity and cut emissions such as NOX.

The higher efficiency should reduce CO2 emissions by 20%, equivalent to 315,000 tonnes less per year compared with older plants.

Engie says the Flémalle plant could technically operate CO2-neutral by 2030 if low- or zero-carbon fuels are available at scale. The French multinational says it wants to be carbon neutral by 2045.

€4 billion investment in renewable power

The new gas-fired power plant is built on the site of the Awirs thermal power plant station, once considered the largest in Wallonia with over 650 MW capacity. It ran on fuel oil, gas, coal, and, in 2005, in a world first, a 100% biomass unit. It supplied Belgium with electricity for almost 70 years, until its final closure in 2020.

The site was then completely decontaminated in early 2022.

According to Reuters, Engie plans to invest up to 4 billion euros in Belgium by 2030, with renewable power generation.

The focus would mainly be on wind power, targeting a capacity of 2 gigawatts, split evenly between onshore and offshore projects.

Engie has close to 3 million customers in Belgium.