BRUXELLES (AFP) – According to a coalition government agreement struck Thursday, Belgium will shut down all seven of its nuclear reactors by 2025 but will not exclude out new-generation nuclear technology.
According to a government source, the all-night talks included an agreement on “investments of about 100 million euros ($ 1.1 million) on compact modular reactors.”
At 1000 GMT, a news conference will be held at the prime minister’s office headquarters to reveal the facts.
Since 2003, the gradual phase-out of nuclear power has been incorporated in Belgian legislation.
The deadline is 2025, which the current administration promised to accomplish when it entered office in October 2020.
The issue, however, has fractured the ruling seven-party coalition of greens, socialists, and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s liberals.
The deadline is 2025, which the current administration promised to accomplish when it entered office in October 2020.
The issue, however, has fractured the ruling seven-party coalition of greens, socialists, and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s liberals.
The French-speaking liberal MR party objected against the policy suggested by Flemish green Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten of entirely eliminating nuclear power.
They argued that part of Belgium’s existing nuclear capacity should be preserved because new gas-fired power plants planned to assure electricity supply would be too polluting.
According to the Belgian station RTBF, a ministerial conference resolved to invest in “renewable and carbon-neutral energy,” including new-generation nuclear power.
According to a government source, a budget for investing in technology has already been developed.
According to the source, the compromise maintains the energy minister’s “scenario A” and “confirms the investment mechanism put in place to replace present, outmoded nuclear power.”
Other EU member states are divided over whether nuclear power and natural gas should be included on the bloc’s list of sustainable energy sources eligible for investment.
The list, known as the European Union’s “taxonomy,” exists to encourage cleaner energy and make the transition to a carbon-neutral future easier.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said on Monday that he anticipated the list to include nuclear power and natural gas when it was delivered in January.
However, some argue that nuclear power is harmful to the environment and should be phased out in favour of alternative energy sources.