French energy giant Engie may be willing to extend the lifespan of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors by 20 years instead of the planned 10 years. According to the unions, CEO Cédric Osterrieth said this at a works council meeting this week.
Furthermore, according to the newspaper Le Soir, Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet is not giving up on the fight to extend the lifespan of Tihange 1, one of Belgium’s oldest nuclear reactors, at 50 years old.
Blowing cold and hot
“The CEO told a works council that Engie is willing to discuss a 20-year extension,” says Ellen Sleeuwaert, secretary at ACV Bouw – Industrie & Energie. However, the top executive would also have said that it would not yet be certain whether Engie would join as an investor in such an extension.
Until now, Engie has always refrained from commenting on plans to keep Doel 4 and Tihange 3, the two youngest nuclear power plants in Belgium, open longer than the planned 10 years, as the government wants. “A 20-year extension is a different project. It does not exist,” said Engie Belgium CEO Vincent Verbeke in January.
In response to the statements made at the works council, Engie says it is always available for dialogue with the government “within the limits of its known strategy.” The company reiterates that it is focusing on the 10-year extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 and the commissioning of the Flémalle and Vilvoorde power plants.
Also, Tihange 1 is not being given up on yet
The De Wever government not only wants to extend the operating life of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power plants by another 10 years but also hopes to prevent the closure of Tihange 1, scheduled for October 1st. However, this seems less likely given the tight deadline.
The lifespan of Tihange 1 has already been extended by 10 years. Still, according to the newspaper Le Soir, Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet (MR) is putting pressure on Engie to prevent it from taking irreversible measures that would render the reactor unusable or significantly increase the costs of a possible restart.
Engie, which owns 50% of the reactor, with the other half owned by France’s EDF, has not yet responded positively to the minister, but according to Le Soir, the energy company would nevertheless be prepared to build in a small buffer zone and does not foresee any major interventions before the end of the year.
Grid reinforcement needed
In any case, Tihange 1 will have to close for at least a few years before it is ready to restart. Not only are renovations needed to improve safety, but the high-voltage grid around Liège is no longer equipped to transport electricity from Tihange 1 after this year.
At Bihet’s request, grid operator Elia is investigating what grid reinforcements are needed, but it has already warned that these would not be ready until 2031 or 2032. Safety watchdog FANC has also warned that the nuclear power plant will first have to undergo a 10-year safety review.
