Four in a row, because after the Doel 3, Tihange 2, and Doel 1 nuclear reactors were permanently shut down earlier, on Monday night, the plug will also be pulled on Tihange 1. The nuclear reactor has been in service for 50 years, although the Belgian government hopes that this is not the end of its operation.
However, that chance is slim, at least if we are to believe Rikkert Wyckmans, the operational director of the nuclear power plant in question. “Extending Tihange 1 would require even greater investments than the extension of Tihange 3 or Doel 4. It is not economically feasible,” says Wyckmans.
Disconnected at approximately 11 p.m.
Normally, the reactor on the banks of the Meuse near Huy in Liège, which is half-owned by Engie and half by EDF Belgium, was supposed to close in 2015. However, in the interests of security of supply – Tihange has a capacity of 962 megawatts – it was allowed to remain open until 2025.
Today, Tihange 1 is no longer operating at 100% capacity, and this Monday night, at around 11 p.m., the reactor will be shut down in a controlled manner and disconnected from the high-voltage grid. From then on, the decommissioning phase will begin, in preparation for the actual dismantling.
The reactor will be unloaded and the fuel cooled, allowing it to be transported later to temporary storage. After that, the primary circuit will undergo chemical cleaning, among other processes. All this work will take years to complete.
The dismantling phase is not scheduled to begin until 2028 and is expected to continue until 2040. This will include the dismantling of the reactor vessel.
Engie is not in favor of keeping the reactor open longer
If it were up to the De Wever government, all this work would be postponed for as long as possible. The government wants to keep the reactor open longer and is asking Engie not to carry out any irreversible work while discussions about an extension are ongoing.
However, Engie has repeatedly made it clear that it is not interested in operating any additional nuclear power plants beyond Doel 4 and Tihange 3, the two remaining Belgian plants that are permitted to operate for another 10 years, while Doel 2 will be decommissioned at the end of November.
Keeping Tihange 1 open longer would also come with a hefty price tag due to the necessary upgrades, and the reactor would also have to undergo a 10-year safety review. For information: the 10-year extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, along with the necessary investments, is expected to cost between 1.6 billion and 2 billion euros.
Not enough capacity on the power grids in Liège
Questions were also raised about whether there is still sufficient capacity on the power grids in the Liège region, now that two gas-fired power stations are being built in the area: one by Engie in Flémalle and the other by Luminus in Seraing.
High-voltage grid operator Elia conducted an impact analysis on this issue. It shows that an extension from 2027 onwards is technically possible, but would lead to congestion on the grid pending structural reinforcements.
Adjustment measures could resolve this congestion, but these would entail costs, “although these may be relatively minor compared to the broader impact of a nuclear phase-out or extension.”
Extension is not economically feasible
However, Rikkert Wyckmans, the director of operations at the Tihange nuclear power plant, is clear: “Extending Tihange 1 would require even greater investments than extending Tihange 3 or Doel 4. It is not economically feasible,” Wyckmans told the Belga press agency, while also pointing out that extending Tihange is not possible at present because there is no additional capacity planned on Elia’s high-voltage grid.
The likelihood that EDF will take over Doel 4 and Tihange 3 to keep both power stations open until 2045 – a move the French energy giant is currently negotiating with Engie and the Belgian state –remains to be seen.
For example, EDF only owns 10% of the shares in Doel 4 and Tihange 3, and still has a high net debt of € 50 to € 54 billion, which means it must take out new loans for new projects.
