Belgium’s government has ordered an assessment into whether the country’s three oldest nuclear reactors could be kept online for an extra two years in light of the energy crisis affecting Europe.
The government is set to ask the operator Engie whether it would be possible to keep the plants Tihange 1 and Doel 1 and 2, which were opened in 1975, running until 2027 rather than shutting them down in 2025 as planned.
“The war in Ukraine and the problems in the French nuclear energy sector have made us look at ways to create more certainty and reduce risks in the energy supply,” Energy ministry spokesman Jonas Dutordoir said. “This could be part of the solution.”
Operational since 1975, the three reactors were initially set to be decommissioned in 2015 but had their lifetime extended until 2025 after Belgium held a review of its phase-out plan.