The government wants to start building nuclear power plants quickly and therefore opts for existing technology

The Dutch government wants to speed up plans to build two nuclear power plants, so it has already held exploratory talks with nuclear power plant suppliers from Japan, South Korea, the United States and France. China and Russia are leaving. Companies should soon carry out a technical feasibility study for setting up new nuclear power plants in Zealand.

Borssele is the preferred location for the new reactors, the Cabinet confirmed in a letter on Friday. The know-how and nuclear infrastructure is there, as the only nuclear power plant in the Netherlands already exists. For example, chemical waste is already stored there. There is also enough space for new reactors.

As a second option, the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam hasn’t completely disappeared. Studies will be carried out on the environmental impacts of new power plants and the effects of a tight power grid, and will look at both Rotterdam and Porzel.

In both locations, bringing electricity from the new plants to the grid will be a major task for grid manager Tenet, as it is already struggling with capacity problems. Another factor is that electricity from the new offshore wind farms in Porcelle will also need to come ashore. But the pressure on the Maasvlakte is high, as many industries there use a lot of electricity.

Nuclear power plants should be operational by 2035. The cabinet says it is opting for nuclear power because the Netherlands needs all clean energy sources to meet climate targets and will not emit greenhouse gases in electricity production by 2040. ‘Furthermore, nuclear power is independent of weather conditions and thus contributes to a sustainable energy mix.’

Not CO2, but nuclear waste

Cabinet calls nuclear power clean because no CO is produced during production₂ Published. However, waste is a big problem because it has been dangerous to people for thousands of years. Environmental organizations and political parties such as GroenLinks and PvdA are therefore against new nuclear power plants. They believe the government should invest the billions going to nuclear power plants into wind and solar energy and hydrogen.

In terms of technology, the government has selected two reactors of the ‘third generation’. ‘It is the most advanced type of reactor in terms of safety, uptime, fuel technology and efficiency.’ An important consideration is that those power plants have already been built in other countries. As a result, there is extensive international practical experience with the planning and financing of this technology. This, the government hopes, will prevent construction from becoming delayed and costlier than expected.

Each new nuclear power plant will have a capacity of 1000 to 1650 MW. It depends on the supplier chosen. Both reactors are estimated to contribute 9 to 13 percent of electricity production by 2035. With a capacity of 485 megawatts, the nuclear power plant in Borsele now accounts for 3 percent of the Netherlands’ electricity.

Additionally, the government hopes to keep the existing nuclear power plant at Porcelle open for longer. The power plant was commissioned in 1973 and will reach its end of life in 2033. EPZ, Electricity Production Company South Netherlands, is investigating whether the reactor vessel can handle expansion.

The Cabinet intends to take final decisions on location, technology and funding during this term. The tender should be held in 2024. Possible participants include Westinghouse from the US, EDF from France and Kopec from South Korea.

The Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority evaluates construction plans for nuclear power plants. He will also examine how safe it is to build a nuclear reactor near the coast. Power plants are expected to last for decades and sea levels will rise. Designers should take this into account.

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