Bert Wollants: “The aim is not to buy a pile of scrap”

In an interview on Radio 1’s De Ochtend, MP and energy expert Bert Wollants discussed the potential takeover of Belgium’s nuclear sites and the extension of the country’s nuclear reactors. While the government sees considerable potential in such a takeover, Wollants stresses that thorough assessments must come first to ensure the government knows exactly what it would be acquiring.

Keeping options open for the future

The main rationale behind taking over the nuclear sites is to preserve generating capacity and keep options open for the future.

“The idea is essentially to take over the sites in their entirety. The reactors whose operating lives can be extended could then undergo the necessary work and continue operating,” Wollants explains.

“At the same time, you are securing space where new reactors could potentially be built in the future.” At the Doel site, for example, land had previously been set aside for a possible expansion such as Doel 5.

According to Wollants, building new nuclear reactors or small modular reactors (SMRs) should go hand in hand with extending existing capacity, but it will take time. “By the time they produce their first electricity, we will undoubtedly be a decade further down the road.” Extending the lifetime of existing reactors – as is already being done with Doel 4 and Tihange 3 – should bridge that gap.

“We need to know what we’re buying”

Extensive independent assessments are currently under way to determine which reactors could feasibly remain in operation for longer, both economically and technically. These are expected to result in an assessment report by October. “We need to know exactly what we have before deciding whether or not to take over these sites,” Wollants says.

Only once the findings are available can formal negotiations with operator ENGIE begin. Wollants also sets out a clear condition regarding ENGIE’s decommissioning fund: “It is only logical that those funds should be transferred along with the sites.”

Wollants stresses the need for a careful approach: “The aim is not to buy a pile of scrap and then have to tell our citizens and businesses, ‘Actually, it turned out to be of no use to us.’”

Challenges and the legacy of past decisions

It was clear from the outset that not all seven reactors could simply be restarted. The previous De Croo government’s decision to phase out all nuclear plants as quickly as possible and begin dismantling them has made the current situation more complicated.

Reactors such as Doel 3 and Tihange 2 also face specific technical challenges, including hydrogen inclusions. “These are hydrogen flakes that have been there from the very beginning. They are not cracks that developed later,” Wollants explains. A new safety assessment will have to determine whether these reactors could potentially remain in operation beyond 40 years, and at what cost.

Finally, Wollants puts the investment required into perspective by pointing to the cost of the alternatives: “Our offshore wind turbines cost money too. Subsidies for gas-fired power plants also cost money. If you have nuclear plants that can continue operating for another 20 or 30 years, that can justify a substantial investment as well,” he concludes.