However, in March last year the Belgian government decided to start talks with Electrabel - the Belgian subsidiary of Engie - with a view to extending the operation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, allowing for the retention of 2 GWe of nuclear generation capacity.

Belgium's nuclear plants account for almost half of the country's electricity production.

It has still not been established how Belgium will make up the shortfall from closing its reactors. Elia has previously said that at least 3.6 GWe of new thermal capacity would be needed by the end of 2025.

Nuclear accounted for 52% of Belgium's electricity generation in 2021 (compared to 40% in 2020) thanks to the high availability of the nuclear fleet,

The Belgian government released its hydrogen strategy in October and Equinor said the H2BE project would help Belgium deliver on the strategy.

The Belgian Council of Ministers has agreed to expand the capacity of the Princess Elisabeth offshore wind zone in the North Sea from 1.75 GW to 3.15-3.5 GW.

Belgium's nuclear phase out is based on legislation passed in 2003 that prohibited the building of new reactors and the service lives of existing ones to 40 years.

WNN - China and Belgium have signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The agreement was one of several accords signed in Brussels yesterday during a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

PEGAS Platform Registers Strong Growth in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium

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