The Belgian government signed on Thursday a Letter of Intent to acquire Electrabel’s (ENGIE) entire nuclear operations in the country. Such a move would reverse the phase-out of nuclear energy legislation adopted in the early 2000s amid safety concerns. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stated that the country is aiming to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and gain greater autonomy in managing its own energy supplies.
I’m always in favor of nationalizing critical infrastructure. Really positively surprised to see this from this government.
They get seven power plants. Two are still operating, three have been shut down last year and the other two earlier then that. The two still operating plants are from 1985. That means they need their mid life service soon.
The issue is that decommissioning a nuclear power plant is really expensive. They probably loose money taking them over.
Most are shutdown
Not sure about this move though, as most of these plants are end of life. They are all 40-50 years old. I guess owning the land and the permits could save some lead time, but it’s not a small endeavor to get them running again.