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Netherlands / As Government Plans For New Nuclear, EPZ Releases Borssele Figures

By David Dalton
23 January 2023

PWR unit has been operating for 50 years
As Government Plans For New Nuclear, EPZ Releases Borssele Figures
Borssele, the only commercial nuclear unit in the Netherlands, has been operating for 50 years.
The single-unit Borssele nuclear power station in the southwest Netherlands was available at full capacity 94% of the time in 2022 and delivered 3.9 TWh of electricity to the grid, operator EPZ said.

It said the capacity factor of other energy technologies is about 10% for solar and 40% for wind.

Over the entire year, Borssele delivered approximately 3.97 TWh (3,970 GWh) of CO2-free electricity to the grid, approximately 10% of all CO2-free generation in the Netherlands.

EPZ said its wind turbines delivered 31 GWh of electricity and its solar park 24 GWh.

Borssele, a 482-MW Siemens-built pressurised water reactor unit, began commercial operation in 1973, meaning it has been producing electricity for 50 years.

In December, the Dutch government chose the Borssele site as its preferred location for the proposed construction of two new nuclear power reactor units.

According to a government statement, the units should be deployed by 2035, each have a capacity of between 1,000 MW and 1,650 MW, and use Generation III+ reactor technology.

The government also said it would begin the legislative process to allow the operating lifetime extension of the existing Borssele unit beyond 2033, the final operation date set by existing legislation.

A coalition government agreement of 2021 stipulates that the Netherlands should plan to build two nuclear plants after 2030 and extend Borssele’s life.

The Netherlands plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. A September 2022 study found that a nuclear generating capacity of about 9,000 MW would be ‘optimal’ towards these ambitious goals, including large-scale nuclear and possibly small modular reactors.

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