© Kristof Vadino
“We need new nuclear power stations to meet the rising demand for electricity,” Open Vld chairman Tom Ongena said in an interview with the newspaper De Tijd on Friday. The proposal will be one of the spearheads of the liberal election campaign.
Source: BELGA
Friday, December 1, 2023 at 6:40 AM
After Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld)’s suggestion that the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power stations be kept open for twenty years rather than ten, chairman Tom Ongena goes one step further. According to him, the next government must start preparing for the construction of new nuclear power plants.
“The energy crisis has shown that we are extremely dependent on gas,” says Ongena. “That is why we must continue with nuclear energy. After Vivaldi – together with the Greens – decided to extend the lifespan of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 by ten years, the next government must increase the lifespan extension to twenty years. This way we buy time for the construction of new power stations. We are talking about the new generation of small and modular power stations, the SMRs.”
In addition, according to the Open Vld chairman, the nuclear phase-out law must be overhauled, “because it constitutes an obstacle to the construction of nuclear power stations, which are necessary to ensure our country of clean and affordable energy in the future.”