French gas and power group Engie said on Friday that maintenance work at its Belgian nuclear reactor Tihange 1 would end earlier than planned, easing concerns over tight electricity supply. Only one of seven reactors operated by Engie’s Belgian unit Electrabel had initially been due to be online in November but the change in repair work will bring the number up to two. Tihange 1 will now be shut for maintenance from Oct. 13 until Nov. 17, instead of Oct. 20 until Nov. 29. Electrabel operates two more reactors at Tihange and four at Doel, producing about half the country’s electricity.
Reuters 28th Sept 2018 read more »
Concrete pieces that litter the ground, clearly fallen from the ceiling, steel bars completely uncovered and visibly corroded, this is what we discover in impressive photos taken on the site of Doel 3 and dating from September 2017 when the reactor is shut down following this “discovery”.
RTBF 28th Sept 2018 read more »
Belgium plans to sue Google over the tech giant’s refusal to blur sensitive military sites and nuclear power plants on the company’s various mapping platforms. Military leaders in Belgium have not yet filed a formal complaint but confirmed to Reuters that they intend to sue.
Gizmodo 28th Sept 2018 read more »
The Belgium Government’s plans to provide €3.5 million (£3m) of public funding to support three offshore wind farms have been approved by the EU. The Commission said the projects will support EU energy and climate goals without distorting competition. The funding is for the Mermaid (235MW), Seastar (252MW) and Northwester2 (219MW) wind farms, which are located in the Belgian waters of the North Sea. The Commission concluded the projects will increase the share of electricity produced from renewable sources in Belgium and reduce pollution while helping the nation meet its target of producing 13% of its power needs from green sources by 2020.
Energy Live News 29th Sept 2018 read more »