Transfer of waste liabilities reduces company’s exposure to future costs
French energy group Engie has formalised a 10-year extension of the Doel-4 and Tihange-3 nuclear power plants in Belgium in partnership with the Belgian state.
The announcement follows approval of the agreement from the European Commission in February and consolidated a preliminary agreement signed two years earlier between the company and Belgian authorities.
The deal includes transferring financial responsibility for nuclear waste and spent fuel, a significant financial issue for both parties. A first tranche of the associated payment has already been made to Engie, with a second due upon reactor restart, scheduled for next November.
Engie said the transfer of all nuclear waste liabilities to the Belgian government means it will no longer be exposed to future waste treatment costs.
Doel-4, near Antwerp, and Tihange-3, near Liege, will now be operated by a joint venture equally owned by Engie and the Belgian government. This structure is based on a contract for difference mechanism aimed at evenly distributing financial risks associated with extending the nuclear plants’ operations.
Under a Belgian nuclear phaseout law of 2003, all seven* nuclear reactors in Belgium at the time had to be permanently shut down by 2025.
New Gov’t Wants To Secure Nuclear Capacity
In March 2022, in light of concerns about security of supply in the context of the energy crisis and the Russian war against Ukraine, the Belgian federal government decided to keep the two newest Belgian nuclear power plants – Doel-4 and Tihange-3 – in operation for an additional 10 years.
The two plants are majority-owned by Engie’s Belgian unit Electrabel while EDF subsidiary Luminus holds a minority stake.
Belgium’s new government has announced plans to secure the country’s reliance on nuclear energy, aiming for a 4 GW share in the country’s electricity mix as part of efforts to secure a carbon-free baseload capacity. The four reactors now remaining in operation have a net capacity of around 3.4 GW
According to a coalition agreement, the aim to “restart” Belgium’s nuclear industry and see the operating life extension of existing nuclear plants and the construction of new reactors.
In February the Doel-1 nuclear power station was permanently shut down, bringing the number of commercial reactors in operation in the country to four. Doel-3 and Tihange-2 had already been shut down in 2022 and 2023.
