 Belgium's Tihange 2 Nuclear Power Plant Unit Restarted- Operator Brussels (Sputnik) Dec 16, 2015 - The second reactor of the Tihange Nuclear Power Station in the southern Belgium region of Wallonia has been restarted, a spokeswoman for the plant's operator, Electrabel energy corporation, said Tuesday. In March 2014, Electrabel decided to temporarily shutdown the reactor because of security concerns after hundreds of tiny cracks were discovered in the steel reactor pressure vessels. "Tihange 2 was connected to the network and [now] produces electricity," Anne-Sophie Huge said. Belgium's two nuclear power stations - the Tihange nuclear plant and the Doel Nuclear Power Station - provide 55 percent of the country's electricity needs. According to Belgian legislation, the country will gradually stop using nuclear energy by 2025, as it switches to relying on fossil fuels and renewable energy, seen as safer electricity sources. Source: Sputnik News
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Belgian power utility Electrabel restarted an ageing nuclear reactor Tuesday after a near two-year shutdown, angering neighbouring Germany which fears the danger of a Fukushima-style meltdown.
Electrabel said it put the Tihange 2 reactor back on line "in complete safety," despite opposition from officials in adjacent North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state.
Belgium has been hit by a series of nuclear mishaps in recent years, with three of the country's seven reactors at one point closed, due in two of the cases to the discovery of micro-cracks in the reactor casings.
The Belgian nuclear authority gave the greenlight to relaunch Tihange 2, as well as another reactor near Antwerp, in November, giving Electrabel permission to operate the plant until its legislated final closure date in 2023.
Garrelt Duin, North Rhine-Westphalia's economy minister, had warned strongly against the relaunch of Tihange, calling it outright "irresponsible".
Four of Germany's ten biggest cities -- Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmund and Essen -- are located within the state.
The city of Aachen, only sixty kilometres (40 miles) from Tihange, said it had explored legal options to stop the reopening but without success.
Germany, unlike Belgium and France, decided to phase out what was a substantial nuclear energy programme after the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
At the time, Belgium also committed to a withdrawal from nuclear power but has since scaled back its ambitions due to a lack of reliable alternatives.
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