nuclear-news

Belgium’s Energy Minister calls for the government to speed up plan to shut down nuclear reactors

Another government crisis looms in Belgium — this time over nuclear
power. The government is set to decide next month whether to go ahead with
a plan to shut down all nuclear reactors by 2025 or prolong the lifespan of
the two newest reactors.

But the seven-party coalition is deeply divided on
the issue, with some warning the government could implode if the fight
escalates. It’s also a make-or-break moment for the Greens, who are in
charge of the energy file and in government for the first time since 2003.

Tinne Van der Straeten, the Green energy minister, is calling on the
government to move ahead with its plan to shut down Belgium’s remaining
reactors — a position that’s in line with the party’s anti-nuclear agenda
and that she has defended as consistent with the country’s long-term
climate goals. But her suggestion to build new gas-fired plants to replace
part of the nuclear capacity before relying fully on renewables isn’t going
down well with other parties, especially as natural gas prices soar across
Europe.

 Politico 11th Oct 2021

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-nuclear-power-government-climate-greens/

October 16, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, politics