Belgium shuts down all nuclear power plants for seven months

Brussels, Belgium – In Belgium, the last two nuclear power plants were shut down for seven months at the beginning of April 2026. The goal is the modernization of the two nuclear power plants Doel 4 and Tihange 3.

As part of the planning by Belgian grid operator Elia, these reactors will be unavailable between 1 April and 1 November 2026, as well as for the same period in the summers of 2027 and 2028. The shutdown is intended to allow extensive modernization and long-term operation (LTO) work as part of the ten-year lifetime extension.

Due to the planned upgrades, the total downtime of the two reactors amounts to 21 months overall—almost two years.

Belgium has already shut down five of its original seven reactors. In 2025 alone, the nuclear power plants Doel 1, Doel 2, and Tihange 1 were decommissioned. Only the two high-capacity reactors Doel 4 (1,090 MW) and Tihange 3 (1,089 MW) remain in operation, with a combined gross capacity of around 2,200 MW.

The Belgian government decided in December 2023 to extend the operating lifetimes until 2035. Both plants were commissioned in 1985 and will therefore reach an age of around 50 years by the end of the extension period.

The lifetime extension is linked to state subsidies that are crucial for continued operation. Negotiations between the Belgian government, the EU Commission, and operator Engie have been ongoing since 2022. On 20 February 2025, the European Commission approved, under EU state aid rules, a revised subsidy scheme for the extension of the two Belgian reactors Doel 4 and Tihange 3.

Source: IWR Online, 15 Apr 2026