The incoming Belgian government is interested in additional life extensions for nuclear power plants and is also considering building new nuclear capacity, according to Mathieu Bihet, the country’s new energy minister.

Bihet told a televised interview with La Libre that the government wants to validate a deal with owner Engie to extend operation of Doel-4 and Tihange-3 “but also wants to extend other capacities”.

The existing deal with Engie is to extend the operating lifetimes of Doel-4 and Tihange-3 until around 2035. Additional agreements could lead to extensions for one or more of the other plants. – Tihange-1, Doel-1 and Doel-2.