On Tuesday, January 31, Unit 2 of the Tihange nuclear power plant in Belgium was disconnected from the grid, making it the second of the country’s reactors to succumb to Belgium’s phase out law. The reactor that was connected to the grid on 5 October 1982 produced 1008 megawatts of power in 11,963 days of operation. More than 270,000,000,000 kilowatts of electricity were produced, according to plant operator Electrobel.
Next scheduled for the plant is the removal of fuel from the reactor. To do so, technicians will flush the primary circuit with a chemical solution.
Scheduled to begin in 2024, operators will begin transferring the cooled fuel elements from the cooling basins to the special storage and transportation containers. Completely emptying the cooling basis will be completed in 2027.
Concurrently, technicians will remove technical systems out of service leaving only necessary cooling systems for the fuel basins. Also in place will remain systems to operate the plants other reactors.
Removing the fuel eliminates 99 percent of the total radioactivity of the unit. Once that level is reached, Electrabel will begin with plant dismantling. This is expected to start in 2026.a
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Shutting down nuclear plants makes no sense. I guess they don't want to contribute to fighting global warming. Wind and solar aren't the answer. Let the idiots freeze in the dark.
