Belgium To Shut All Nuclear Plants
February 23, 2021
By Paul Homewood
BELGIUM’s decision to shut down several of its nuclear power plants has been branded "delusional" and pinned on the EU’s plot to annihilate member states’ independence.
Belgium will shut seven nuclear power plants between 2022 and 2025. The decision was confirmed at the end of 2020 by Alexander De Croo’s coalition government. But the plan would see the country reliant on its neighbours for the supply of electricity – something that was blamed on the increasing integration of the European Union.
Belgium has 5.7 GW of nuclear power, which supplies nearly half of its electricity.
http://energodock.com/belgium/electricity-shares
As reliable generation declines in Europe, it seems as if every country is planning to import power from everybody else!
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
I guess Belgium will have to up its hydro contribution.
Their hydro contribution will be coming from The Netherlands.
From the Dutch mountains i presume, since hydro should more appropriately be called gravity power.
If I understand this correctly the ultimate aim is for Europe to rely on imports of solar energy from North Africa ,wind energy from UK and hydro from Norway. Of course its really gas from Russia and MENA that would really keep some of the lights on, but no-one talks about that.
Complete madness!
So the countries of Europe are all going to rely on their neighbours to pick up the slack.
This is pure speculation but I suspect there may be a financial trigger for this decision.
A few years ago France embarked on a massive programme (“Grand Carenage”) to refurbish and upgrade its nuclear fleet at a cost of €50+ billion. Belgium’s reactors were all built in the 70s – 80s, like most of the French units, and feature the same designs. So France’s refurbishment project must be putting “peer-group” pressure on Belgium to follow suit.
Maybe the government baulked at the likely cost?
I would suspect downwind Germany, complaining of the risk of leaks and explosions, and of course wanting everybody else to join their expensive energy level-playing-field.
COALition government!
Cherchez Les Greens:
“The so-called “Vivaldi coalition” – named after the Italian composer’s Four Seasons concerti – has brought together socialists, liberals and Greens from both Wallonia and Flanders as well as the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V).”
What is the impact on CO2 emissions and the Paris agreement? I can’t believe that all of this power will be replaced by CO2 free sources of power so CO2 emissions rise.
Zakia Khattabi is currently the vice president of the Écologistes Confédérés pour l’organisation de luttes originales (Ecolo) party. In other words the Belgian Green Party.
She is also the Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal in the Belgian government. Greens worldwide are notorious climate change deniers as they oppose nuclear power. Even the ultimate Climate Change high priest Prof James Hansen hates what he calls “Big Green” and strongly advises against having anything to do with them.
If ever there was an argument against Proportional Representation, Belgium is is it. Wasn’t it Nigel Farage who claimed (in the EU parliament) that Belgium wasn’t really even a proper country?
Not being a proper country meaning that two different parts which don’t particularly like each other but forced into each others arms by political and financial forces.
Could cover a lot of “countries” in Europe and the world.
I think Charles de Gaulle complained Belgium was a non-country invented by the British (following Waterloo) to spite the French.
The Brits certainly had something to do with it – they didnt want France as the gateway to the rest of Europe, however these provinces were previously part of the Netherlands ( the coastal area speaks Dutch and the hinterland were French speaking who controlled the country once it had independence)
The Brits made sure a German prince from family of Queen Vics Prince Albert was on the throne.
Politically its a broken country now with a government taking 18 months plus to form after an election, they used to take around 3 months or so and that used to be thought as a long time , but even the Germans take that long now.
Checking up on the history: The Dutch kings rebellious provinces declared independence in Brussels and when he tried to put down the rebellion the French did a Putin and sent troops to support the rebels who took a bit of Luxembourg as well.
The Treaty of London for the creation of Belgium of 1839 came to light again in 1914 when it wasnt the French who marched in but the Germans thus bring GB into WW1
Perhaps de Gaulle didnt want to mention who saved Frances bacon in WW1 due to the treaty which created Belgium
The NEMO connector between the UK and Belgium is now looking like a liability. Already we have been seeing power being wheeled from France via the UK to Belgium. Power shortages in Belgium will mean higher prices being imported to the UK.
They arent the only ones, power is routed through the Czechs and Austrians as well on the way to Germany. As allways the power flow follows the money
My Dutch relatives tell me that they are waiting for some of the Belgian reactors to blow up, because they are so poorly maintained.
Seeing signs of a major grid upset this morning on the Continent. Huge turnaround in interconnector flows to France, big difference between forecast and outturn.
https://www.bmreports.com/bmrs/?q=eds/main
I showed the pie chart to my wife who is not particularly technically literate. Her comment: They’re barmy.
That’s OK, the more the green loonies succeed in their crazy plans, the more catastrophic the outcomes will be, and maybe the UK can avoid the dystopian future.
When the crunch comes and the demand for imported French power exceeds the supply, will it be the UK or Belgium who goes without?
Depends who pays the most!
At the moment I think National Grid is authorised to pay up to £6,000/MWh to outbid the Continental maximum which is I think €4,000/MWh. The Grid payed £4,000/MWh for supply several times already over the winter.
We can rely on high tech industry
https://www.thegwpf.com/green-suicide-high-electricity-costs-drive-german-high-tech-to-asia/
OOPS
With Germany closing its remaining nuclear capacity of 8 GW by next year, it’s going to be a seller’s market, especially on those cold, still winter nights!
Step forward Poland…
Poland plans to speed up move to clean and nuclear energy
Poland’s government has adopted a plan to speed up the coal-reliant nation’s transformation to clean and nuclear energy
By The Associated Press, 2 February 2021
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/poland-plans-speed-move-clean-nuclear-energy-75638303
Interesting. Next door, in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, they want to build two new nuclear power plants.
https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/124068/EPZ-wil-twee-nieuwe-kerncentrales-en-huidige-langer-open-houden
(sorry for the link in Dutch).
People who want to import solar electric power from the Sahara should have a good look at what a sand storm does to glass. So everyone will be importing fairy dust from each other.
Abrasion is indeed a problem. Also, what if the sand/dust settles on the panels. Then you need clean water (dirty or salt water will leave stains) to wash off the dirt. Guess what is not in big supply in the desert.
Oh, and how much electricity is lost in the 3000+km cable from the Sahara to Europe?
“…People who want to import solar electric power from the Sahara…”
Because when it’s night in Europe, in the Sahara, the sun is still out? Oh.
Transatlantic power cable anyone?
Even when the panels arent covered in dust (using the copious water the Sahara is known for to wash them) or abraded to uselessness by the sandstorms, they will only keep the lights on at lunchtime. In the summer. What, you want the lights on at night?
As thesuninnclun says: these people are daft!
Similar comments to Singapore supposedly running on Australian desert solar farms.
Oh, and look out for the locals blowing them up: Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Chad, Mali etc all being such peaceful western oriented places(are we still bombing democracy into the Libyans, or is that the Americans now…?).
Aren’t we forbidden from doing business with (Spanish) Sahara because of illegal occupation or something?
Never mind, subsidies to trough!