Belgium decides to extend the lives of two nuclear reactors.
Belgium is another one of those European nations that drank the "nuclear phaseout" koolaid, which is effectively - despite the marketing to the contrary - a decision to announce, in defiance of reality - that "nuclear energy is 'too dangerous'" and "fossil fuels are not 'too dangerous." This is despite the fact that dangerous fossil fuel waste kills people continuously at well known rates, whereas commercial so called "nuclear waste" has demonstrated, in well over a half a century, a record of killing very few people, if indeed, any people.
Go figure.
The main supplier of dangerous fossil fuels - which are assumed to be "not too dangerous" - is a prominent Eurasian nation led by an autocrat whose country gets 60% of its funds from the sale of dangerous fossil fuels. All the money sent to this person to support nuclear phase outs apparently has proved "too dangerous" for a prominent wheat exporting Southeastern nation inhabited by a highly cultured and very brave people known as Ukranians.
In light of this even, Belgium, which planned to shut its reactors three years from now in order take up dumping dangerous natural gas waste into the planetary atmosphere has decided to think, um, a little more carefully:
Extended operation of two Belgian reactors approved.
nder a plan announced by Belgium's coalition government in December last year, Doel 3 and Tihange 2 will be shut down in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The newer Doel 4 and Tihange 3 would be shut down by 2025. However, it requested the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) consider the extended operation of the two newer reactors if a report by grid operator Elia, due on 18 March, showed the security of energy supply would be jeopardised after 2025 without nuclear energy.
Belgium's nuclear plants account for almost half of the country's electricity production. It has still not been established how the country will make up the shortfall from closing its reactors. Elia has previously said that at least 3.6 GWe of new thermal capacity would be needed by the end of 2025.
FANC submitted its analysis of a possible extension of the operating period of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 to the federal government in January. The report analysed and listed the decisions to be taken and the actions to be implemented in the short and medium-term to be able to operate the reactors longer than expected, in the event that this extension proves necessary to guarantee energy supply beyond 2025.
The continued operation of the units is referred to as "Plan B". FANC said the long-term operation of the reactors is possible from the nuclear safety point of view, albeit with necessary regulatory modifications and improvements to the safety of the installations...
The carbon intensity of Belgium as of this writing (19:47 (7:47 PM) Brussels time) is 150 g CO2/kwh. 63.98% of the emissions come from its internal combustion of dangerous natural gas and 15.25% of the emissions of the anti-nuke country Germany, where the carbon intensity is as of this writing, 449 g CO2/kwh.
The carbon intensity of France is 85 g CO2/kwh as of this writing.
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