Belgian electricity is losing its splendor. Produced in smaller quantities on the national territory, it must be imported more, and this is not good for the individual’s wallet. The electricity distribution and transport costs of a Walloon household should also weigh 77 euros more in 2025 than last year. That’s an increase of around 10%.
“The year 2024 was marked by little sunshine and little wind. For the first time since 2016, renewable energies failed to beat the previous year’s production record, writes the economic journal The Echo. In addition, gas-fired power plants operated at an exceptionally reduced rate, causing total Belgian electricity production to fall to its lowest level in six years, according to data from the European electricity networks federation, ENTSO. E.”
The year 2016 is remembered because of the risk of blackout that weighed on the country. Six of the seven nuclear reactors had been shut down due to breakdowns, malfunctions and fuel refueling operations. Things then gradually improved, with national production going so far as to cover 98% of domestic consumption in 2023. Belgium even sold electricity to its neighbors.
An aging nuclear fleet
Unsurprisingly, it is the vagaries of nuclear power which are mainly at the origin of the current decline. The Belgian park is old. Two power plants have been permanently closed since 2022 due to their obsolescence. Two others were extended until 2035 after a long political standoff. The last three reactors are in principle promised to be closed this year, if nothing changes.
The weather didn’t help. The heavy rainfall was accompanied by less sunshine which reduced photovoltaic production. Panel owners injected less electricity into the network (-10% in 2024 compared to 2023). Solar energy nevertheless represents 12% of total Belgian electricity production. But this remains insufficient to compensate for the drop in… wind production.
Because the wind blew less. The production of onshore and offshore wind turbines has fallen by 11% compared to 2023. However, it is precisely on this that Belgium is betting in the future to ensure its electricity supply, by investing massively in new offshore wind farms. in the North Sea. Current installations produce a capacity of 2,262 MW, covering approximately 10% of national demand. The future “Princess Elisabeth Zone” should make it possible to increase it to between 5.4 and 5.8 GW, while contributing to the country’s climate objectives. For the moment, however, the site is slipping, notably due to problems related to obtaining permits.
The comeback of gas-fired power plants
Paradoxically, while gas-fired power plants have been designated for many years as the ideal alternative to nuclear power, their production has fallen to its lowest level in around ten years. Their share in the Belgian energy mix was only 14% in 2024, whereas it was around 25% previously. Here, it is the possibility of buying cheaper electricity abroad which convinced Belgium to limit its gas power plants to the role of strategic reserves. Why run them and accelerate their aging if electricity is offered on the international market at low cost?
This context highlights the importance that discussions between future government partners on the country’s energy choices will have in the future. Trainer Bart De Wever wishes to extend the activity of certain nuclear reactors, not for ten years as concluded under the De Croo government (still in current affairs), but for twenty years. Tihange 3 (Huy) and Doel 4 (Antwerp) would be the beneficiaries of this new extension.
Discussions between parties also concern the possibility of developing new civil nuclear projects. This approach involves the exploration of advanced technologies and the construction of new facilities. This involves ensuring national energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining stable and reliable electricity production. The N-VA of Bart De Wever and the Reform Movement of Georges-Louis Bouchez are at the forefront of the issue.
2025 will not mark the end of Belgian nuclear power
Last summer, however, when the project for a new extension of Tihange 3 and Doel 4 was formulated by Bart De Wever, Engie received the request coldly. The French energy company, which manages the Belgian nuclear fleet, also rejected the idea of building new power stations. The years to come will tell whether this was just another bout of muscle-building between the French group and the Belgian authorities, or whether Belgium should really think about finding a new partner if it wants to strengthen its capacity to nuclear energy supply.
2025, let us remember, is also the year when Belgium should have completely abandoned nuclear power, in accordance with a law passed in 2003.
In the meantime, in the absence of the latest generation of nuclear power, wind and sun, the return with fanfare of gas-fired power stations is announced. Presented by environmentalists as the alternative to the atom despite their greenhouse gas emissions, they had less momentum since the extension of the activity of Tihange 3 and Doel 4 was decided in the spring 2022. But if the share of nuclear power continues to decline in the years to come, gas-fired power plants should be put to greater use until renewable energies take over.
