The French operator Engie has shut down the 1,006 MW Doel 3 nuclear reactor, located in Beveren near Antwerp (northern Belgium). The Doel 3 reactor was disconnected from the electricity grid according to the Belgian nuclear phase-out law. This is the first time that a reactor is shut down in Belgium and it comes while energy prices are soaring due to the crisis in Europe.
The total power of the Doel power plant is 2.9 GW. The Doel 1 reactor (433 MW) started operating in early 1975, followed later that year by Doel 2 (433 MW). Doel 3 was launched in 1982, and Doel 4 (1,033 GW) was completed in 1985.
In July 2022, Engie’s subsidiary Electrabel signed a letter of intent with the Belgian state to extend the lives of the Doel 4 (1,033 MW) and Tihange 3 (1,038 MW) reactors by 10 years. At the end of 2021, Belgium had 5.9 GW of nuclear installed capacity (22% of its total installed capacity).
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.