The lastest energy-related action of the Belgian government is to provide the money that was promised to SCK to evaluate or co-develop SMR technology. This is a side effect of the negociations with ENGIE in a desperate attempt to re-open a few NPPs to keep the light on. This is politics. While SCK wonders if… Continue reading Belgium developing SMRs
Category: Educational
Hydro-electricity is not renewable nor sustainable?
One would suspect that hydro-electricity is a key example of renewable energy. Is it? And more important: is it sustainable? Belgium does not comprise mountains or fjords. Instead we use a pumping plant in Coo-Trois-Ponts. It uses electricity from the grid to pump water from a low reservoir uphill to an elevated reservoir, with the… Continue reading Hydro-electricity is not renewable nor sustainable?
The NuclearSub Deal – What’s in a Name?
On January 11, 2023, the Belgian government claimed to have a deal with Engie on the future of KCD-4 and CNT-3. Whether this deal involves EDF is yet unclear. To shed some light, here’s my definition of a deal. A deal is closed if and only if: 1. the contract is legal and signed, 2.… Continue reading The NuclearSub Deal – What’s in a Name?
Electricity price mechanisms
On the European market, the price of electricity is “determined” by the marginal cost of the “last” kWh that is produced to fulfil the “immediate” demand (making abstraction of the grid latency). In practice, our national grid is supplied by large nuclear power plants producing the 6GWe base load, with an all-time, all-included production cost of… Continue reading Electricity price mechanisms
Why Brigid selects thorium
Thorium: the magical solution? Hell, no! Be careful what you wish for. The only thing that really matters, is HOW we use nuclear fuel.This is what we call the “fuel cycle”. The details of the fuel cycle determine: the efficiency of the conversion of the nuclear fuel into heat. This is really important considering nuclear… Continue reading Why Brigid selects thorium