Unit 2 at Belgium’s Doel NPP has been permanently shut down and disconnected from the high voltage network, after having operated for 50 years, according to operator Engie. Doel 2 closed under the supervision of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC – Federaal Agentschap voor Nucleaire Controle).
Doel 2, a 445 MWe (net) pressurised water reactor (PWR), is the fifth reactor to close in Belgium, which had seven nuclear power reactors – three at Tihange near Liege and four at Doel near Antwerp. All seven are pressurised water reactors operated by Electrabel, part of Engie. Apart from Doel 1&2, which are 430/445 MWe plants, the others have a capacity of approximately 1,000 MWe.
In May, Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives voted to repeal a 2003 law setting out plans to phase out nuclear power. The 2003 law set a date for the closure the plants and prohibited construction of new nuclear capacity. Over the past two decades, the law has been amended several times to allow most of the units to remain open longer.
Under the phase-out law, Doel 1 was to be taken out of service in 2015. However, the law was amended allowing it to operate for an additional 10 years. Doel 3 was closed in 2022 and Tihange 2 in 2023. Tihange 1 shut down in October this year. Doel 4 and Tihange 3 were scheduled to close in November 2025 but the conflict in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian oil and gas resulted in both being allowed to operate for 10 more years. The bill repealing the nuclear exit law now allows for the possibility of further extension.
For continued operation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, Electrabel had to submit an extensive LTO (Long Term Operation) file with safety studies and an action plan to further increase safety. This was submitted in December 2024 for both units. Tihange 3 was taken offline in April for an extensive inspection and maintenance period after which FANC and its technical subsidiary Bel V determined that the reactor could safe restart in July. Doel 4 was taken offline in June for its LTO overhaul and was restarted in October. FANC has called for “clarity to be provided in the course of the current legislative term on possible extension of the operation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 beyond 2035.
After Doel 2 closed it has now entered the decommissioning phase in preparation for dismantling, which will start in 2029. Fuel will be unloaded from the reactor and cooled in the storage pool, so it can later be transported to temporary storage. Demolition is planned between 2039 and 2040.
FANC noted: “As with the other shutdowns, the process began with the submission of a ‘notice of cessation of activities…. This document describes in great detail the activities that will be carried out after the shutdown to prepare for decommissioning.”
Even during the period of dismantling, Electrabel remains responsible for nuclear safety on the site. The National Institution for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials, ONDRAF/NIRAS (Organisme National des Déchets Radioactifs et des matières Fissiles enrichies/ Nationale Instelling voor Radioactief Afval en verrijkte Splijtstoffen), will also be involved in the dismantling.
The decommissioning process consists of four stages:
- The proposed planning for decommissioning, which ends with plant closure;
- The Post-operational phase (after cessation of activities) in which a number of preparatory works may be carried out. This includes the disposal of nuclear fuel and industrial waste and the rinsing and emptying of pipes. This phase will take an estimated 5-6 years.
- The dismantling phase, which will include work for the decommissioning and disposal of the facility’s systems, equipment and structures, including those parts of the facility that have served as a barrier to the containment of radioactive and hazardous substances. The conventional and radioactive waste produced is mapped, conditioned (enclosed), managed and stored through the authorized bodies.
- The final phase of decommissioning, which begins when FANC receives the radiological final characterisation and the final dismantling report. Before releasing the site, FANC must check that the installations and site are indeed free from radioactive contamination.
FANC notes: “The decommissioning of power reactors is new for our country and it is a major challenge, but Belgium has already carried out several decommissionings of other nuclear installations. The FANC and its technical branch Bel V have gained experience through the various decommissioning projects that have taken place since 2012 (including the decommissioning projects of FBFC International, Belgoprocess and Belgonuclear [waste processing facilities], and the decommissioning of research reactors such as Thetis in Ghent and the BR3 of the SCK).”
