Electrabel (ENGIE) shuts down 445 MW Doel-1 nuclear reactor in Belgium

Electrabel (part of the ENGIE group) has definitively shut down the 445 MW Doel-1 nuclear reactor in Belgium, which has generated 148 TWh in 50 years of operations. Commissioned in February 2025 and initially expected to be closed in 2015, the reactor secured a 10-year extension in 2015, along with Doel 2 and Tihange 1, provided they carry out a number of major improvements to comply with safety requirements imposed by the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC).

According to preliminary data from the Belgian electricity system operator Elia, nuclear power generation fell to 29.5 TWh (42.4%) in 2024, compared to 31.4 TWh (41.3%) in 2023. This marks the fourth consecutive decline of nuclear generation, ahead of its planned phase-out. Two 1 GW reactors - Doel 3 and Tihange 2 - were permanently disconnected from the grid in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In the autumn of 2025, Tihange 1 (962 MW) and Doel 2 (445 MW) will also be definitively shut down. In February 2025, the new Belgian government agreed to extend the lifetime of the existing nuclear reactors Doel 4 and Tihange 3 (1 GW each) operated by ENGIE as long as safety allows beyond the 10-year extension already granted. In addition, the government wants to build new reactors without specifying timing and locations, targeting 4 GW of nuclear in the Belgian capacity mix. The 2003 nuclear phase-out law would be repealed and all obstacles to the construction of new reactors removed.