The government said that it had rewritten the 2003 law on nuclear energy so that its current stance could not be changed by decree, and therefore the timing of the phase-out "is now final." This certainty "should create a favourable investment climate which will allow us to gradually phase out nuclear power," it said.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/07/04/belgium-to-start-nuclear-phase-out-in-2015/

Belgium to Start Nuclear Phase-out in 2015
Published July 04, 2012
Dow Jones Newswire

Belgium Wednesday decided to extend the life of one of its oldest nuclear reactors by a decade to avoid the danger of blackouts while atomic power is phased out, but agreed to stick to a 2025 target date to exit nuclear power.

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The Belgium government decisions, at a meeting Wednesday, would see the phasing out of nuclear plants start in 2015, in line with a 2003 law. By 2025, all seven reactors--which are divided over two plants--will be shut. However, the lifespan of one of the country's oldest reactors would be extended by 10 years.

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Belgium's Mr. Wathelet, who Wednesday presented the plan to his colleagues after months of work, had proposed to start the shut down in 2016, but ministers decided to stick to a 2003 law mandating a nuclear phase-out starting in 2015.

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The previous Belgian government had proposed to extend the life of three reactors by a decade, but the government fell before any amendment to the 2003 law could be voted on and the idea was dropped by the present government.

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http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_Closure_dates_for_Belgian_units_2307121.html

Closure dates for Belgian units
23 July 2012

The Belgian government has announced the complete schedule for the forced closure of the country's nuclear power plants, claiming that the move will "create a favourable investment climate" to replace the 50% of domestic power supply that stands to be lost.

Political shutdown dates for four reactors were announced at the end of last week, complimenting those for three units announced on 4 July. Together they will see all the Belgian units close between 2015 and 2025, roughly in line with their 40th anniversaries, despite a previously determined policy that operation of older units to 50 years was in the country's best interests. Only one unit, Tihange 1, is permitted to operate to 50 years of age; an exception made specifically to avoid blackouts, said the government.

Reactor unit Capacity Start-up Shutdown
Doel 1 433 MWe 1974 2015
Doel 2 433 MWe 1975 2015
Doel 3 1006 MWe 1982 2022
Doel 4 1047 MWe 1984 2025
Tihange 1 962 MWe 1975 2025
Tihange 2 1008 MWe 1982 2023
Tihange 3 1054 MWe 1985 2025
Total 5943 MWe

The government said that it had rewritten the 2003 law on nuclear energy so that its current stance could not be changed by decree, and therefore the timing of the phase-out "is now final." This certainty "should create a favourable investment climate which will allow us to gradually phase out nuclear power," it said.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/europe-power-supply-idUSL5E8DD87020120214

Germany powers France in cold despite nuclear u-turn

Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:07am EST

* Renewables, idled coal plants help Germany meet demand

* France sees price spikes as nuclear insufficient

* French nuclear future big debate point in elections

By Karolin Schaps

PARIS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Germany came to the rescue of France during last week's cold snap by massively exporting electricity to its neighbour, silencing critics who slammed Berlin last year for abruptly shutting down 8 nuclear reactors after the Fukushima disaster.

Critics said such a decision would put Europe's electricity supply balance at risk and waved the possibility of widespread blackouts as a result.

"The cold snap was a situation most experts feared and we managed without bigger problems," said Stephan Schnorr, German power trader at utility Dong Energy.

Instead, it was France which suffered from supply tightness last week, pushing prices to two-year highs and prompting the grid to issue warnings urging the public to refrain from using electrical equipment, such as washing machines or coffee makers.

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http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/09/clean-energy-loving-germany-increasingly-exporting-electricity-to-nuclear-heavy-france/

Clean-Energy-Loving Germany Increasingly Exporting Electricity to Nuclear-Heavy France

February 9, 2012 By Zachary Shahan

Remember last year when Germany decided to speed up its phasing out of nuclear power and switch to clean energy and everyone (not in the clean energy industry) got freaked out about how German electricity prices would rise and the country would just start importing electricity from France’s nuclear power plants?

Well, as I just wrote, it seems pretty clear that solar photovoltaics are bringing down the cost of electricity in Germany. Additionally, German electricity exports to France have been increasing!

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“As a result, power exports from Germany to France reached 4 to 5 gigawatts – the equivalent of around four nuclear power plants – last Friday morning according to German journalist Bernward Janzing. It was not exactly a time of low consumption in Germany either at 70 gigawatts around noon on Friday, but Janzing nonetheless reports that the grid operators said everything was under control, and the country’s emergency reserves were not being tapped. On the contrary, he reports that a spokesperson for transit grid operator Amprion told him that ‘photovoltaics in southern Germany is currently helping us a lot.’”

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Also, as you can see in the chart above, Germany’s electricity from solar has been peaking at about 10 gigawatts lately, or about 40% of its 25 gigawatts of capacity. I have a feeling citizens opposed to Germany’s nuclear shut down and clean energy revolution are keeping quiet at the moment.

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