겨울이 두려운 '탈원전' 벨기에..."공장 세우고 블랙아웃 걱정" VIDEO: Belgium's nuclear reactors shutdown; to be taken for repairing

 

Belgium's nuclear reactors shutdown; to be taken for repairing

Devdiscourse News Desk Brussels Last Updated at 22-10-2018 

Four nuclear reactors at Doel near Antwerp and three at Tihange in Liege, all operated by Electrabel, part of France's Engie, produce about half of Belgium's electricity when they are fully operational.

Belgium's energy production is plunging as its nuclear reactors are taken offline for repairs, with the power shortfall this winter seen as a test of the country's ability to cope when the reactors are phased out from 2022.

겨울이 두려운 '탈원전' 벨기에..."공장 세우고 블랙아웃 걱정" 국가 전력 40%  원전 7기 중 6기 가동 중단 이웃나라에서 전기 수입 추진...한파 닥치면 감당키 어려워   오는 2025년까지 단계적인 원전(원자력발전소) 폐쇄를 추진중인 벨기에가 올 겨울 전력난·블랙아웃(대정전)을 걱정하고 있다. 국가 전력의 40%를 담당하는 원전 7기 중 6기가 가동을 중단, 전력공급이 부족할 것으로 예상되기 때문이다. 벨기에는 프랑스, 독일 등 이웃나라에서 전기 수입을 추진중이나 유럽에 한파가 닥치면, 이마저도 장담할 수 없는 상황이다. 벨기에 전력당국은 올 12월에 원전 2기 재가동을 추진중이나, 상황이 여의치 않을 경우 고속도로 가로등을 끄고 국가 전역의 가정 내 순환정전(하루 3시간) 실시도 검토한다는 방침이다. 전력 700~900MW 부족…원전 운영사, 기업 절전 독려 광고 12일(현지시각) 영국 가디언에 따르면 벨기에는 도엘 원전 1·2호기가 올해 봄 냉각시스템 문제로 정비에 들어갔고, 티한지 1호기는 연료 재장전과 정비를 위해 가동을 중단했다. 티한지 2·3호기와 도엘 4호기는 원자로 주변 콘크리트 부식 문제로 가동을 중단했다. 현재 운영중인 원전은 도엘 3호기뿐이다. 현재 멈춰있는 원전 6기는 1975~1985년 사이에 40년의 수명으로 건설됐는데, 설비용량이 3분의 2수준인 6기가와트(GW)까지 줄었다. 벨기에 전력당국은 올 겨울에 1700메가와트(MW)의 추가 전력이 필요한데, 아직 700~900MW를 확보하지 못했다. 이에 원전 운영사인 엔지 일렉트라벨은 기업들의 절전을 독려하는 광고를 시작했다. 엔지 일렉트라벨은 도엘 1호기와 2호기를 각각 올 12월 10일과 12월 31일부터 재가동하는 방안을 추진중이다. 벨기에 에너지 장관인 마리-크리스틴 마르겜은 재가동 일정에 차질이 생길까봐 걱정하고 있다고 로이터가 전했다. 벨기에 철도운영사인 인프라벨은 전력이 부족해지면 아시아에서 유럽으로 이동하는 물자 운송을 중지할 수 밖에 없다고 했다.                      ‘탈원전’을 선언한 벨기에가 원전 가동 문제로 전력난을 겪고 있다. 사진은 현재 가동을                       멈춘 벨기에 티한지 원전./엔지 일렉트라벨 홈페이지 전기요금 6배 이상 폭등…프랑스·네덜란드서 비싸게 수입한 영향 가디언은 "(올 겨울) 벨기에의 운명은 이웃나라의 날씨에 의존할 수 밖에 없다"고 했다. 그러나 프랑스 역시 노후 원전의 안전 문제로 겨울철 전력수급이 원활하지 않으며 한파가 불어닥치면 벨기에에 잉여 전력을 공급할 수 없다. 독일의 경우 벨기에로 전력을 가져오는데 기술적인 문제가 있다고 한다. 벨기에의 또 다른 고민은 전력난으로 비싼 전기를 프랑스, 네덜란드 등으로부터 수입한 탓에 올 9월 전기요금이 메가와트시(MWh)당 411유로까지 폭등했다는 점이다. 원전이 정상 가동됐던 지난해 평균 전기요금(MWh당 60.19유로)의 6배가 넘는 수준이다. 벨기에 국민들은 ‘왜 해외에서 비싼 전기를 사와야 하냐’면서 전력당국을 강하게 비판하고 있다. S&P 글로벌의 피에르 조르쥬 애널리스트는 "벨기에가 원전을 대체하기 위해서는 가스발전소 6~8기가 필요하다"면서 "문제는 아무도 수익을 낼 수 있는 시장 여건이 보장되지 않은 곳에 가스발전소를 지을려고 하지 않는다"고 했다. 정범진 경희대 교수(원자력공학)는 "유럽은 국가간 전력망이 연결돼 벨기에처럼 전기가 부족하면 수입해 쓸 수 있지만, 우리나라는 전기가 부족해도 가져올 곳이 없다"면서 "인류 역사상 에너지 수요가 줄어든건 석유파동때 뿐이다. 정부가 탈원전 기조에 맞춰 전력수요를 낮게 잡고 전력공급을 계속 줄이면 훗날 부작용이 상당할 것"이라고 했다. 설성인 기자 조선비즈

edited by kcontents

Six of the seven -- all built between 1975 and 1985 with an original lifespan of 40 years -- are currently closed for repairs and maintenance, reducing their combined 6 gigawatts (GW) capacity by nearly two-thirds. They are expected to come back online between late November and June.

Grid operator Elia has warned it may have to ration electricity during the high-demand winter months, while fears of a supply shortage that could see lights go out and trains stand still have pushed power prices to record highs.

The Doel 1 and 2 reactors were shut down in the spring for repairs to their water-cooling systems, while Tihange 1 went offline on Oct. 13 for refuelling and regular maintenance.

Tihange 2 and 3 and Doel 4 are closed while concrete degradation in bunkers close to the reactor buildings is investigated and repaired. Similar concerns led to a shutdown last year at Doel 3, the only reactor scheduled to remain online through November.

Engie built a new roof for the bunker at Doel 3 and will do the same at the other reactors with concrete degradation, deputy director general Pierre Mongin told a briefing on Thursday.

Belgium's nuclear regulator FANC has said problems in the concrete structures surrounding the four reactors are classed as the lowest level of severity, with no impact on the population or the environment.

PROBLEMS

This year, Belgium extended the area within which it distributes free iodine tablets for use in a nuclear emergency to all its territory and parts of Germany and the Netherlands, although it said there was no specific risk from the reactors.

John Large, an independent nuclear engineer and analyst, said fixing the concrete degradations could take months longer than Electrabel has projected.

Based on the problems at the other reactors, he said the year-end finish targeted for the repairs at Doel was optimistic, adding: "I would expect them to go into, very certainly into the mid of next year before they can come back online."

Electrabel spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Huge told Reuters the dates given for restarting the reactors -- which will need permission from FANC -- were its best estimate given the information it has.

bloombergquint.com

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RISK OF POWER CUTS

Elia estimates it will need about 1,700 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity for the winter because of the outages, of which 700-900 MW has yet to be found.

To help make up the loss, Engie has fired up old gas plants and brought in diesel generators, as well as paying heavy industrial consumers to curb their use, Mongin said.

Grilled by lawmakers this month, Engie Electrabel's chief nuclear officer Thierry Saegeman said it would work with Elia to find power but that its first priority was safety.

If shortfalls persist, an eight-stage load-shedding plan devised by Elia could see daily power cuts in rural areas, Danielle Devogelaer of the Federal Planning Bureau told the hearing.

Trains could not operate beyond the first stage of load-shedding, Thomas Baeken, spokesman for rail operator Infrabel, told Reuters -- halting passengers and freight within Belgium, a major transport hub for goods coming from Asia to Europe.

Energy minister Marie Christine Marghem said imported power would help avoid blackouts. "The month of November, which was critical, is now a lot more secure. For the rest of winter we will continue working," she told Reuters.

A deal to free up capacity on Belgian interconnectors, through which much renewable electricity produced in northern Germany reaches southern Germany, will allow more imports.

Elia CEO Chris Peeters told lawmakers that France would supply 1,000 MW in November and December. Belgium's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from overseas are at high levels, with six tankers due to arrive within days.

But Peeters was "less positive" about January and February, especially if a cold winter limits the energy neighbouring countries can export.

France, for example, has issues with energy availability in winter due to safety concerns at its own nuclear reactors.

Many European reactors are reaching the end of their lives and showing defects that ultimately cannot be fixed.

bloombergquint.com

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FUTURE OF POWER

The struggle to meet energy demand this winter has raised questions about how Belgium will cope after its nuclear reactors are decommissioned.

A law passed in 2003 extended the lifetime of the oldest reactors to 2025, with phasing out due to start in 2022.

Energy expert Devogelaer told Reuters Belgium is likely to rely on natural gas, while an Elia spokeswoman said it expects to make up the loss from nuclear with gas and renewables such as solar and wind, plus higher imports.

The grid operator said in 2017 that at least 3.6 GW of new build adjustable (thermal) capacity would be needed to "cope with the shock of the nuclear exit".

Belgium has an LNG terminal and by 2020 will have interconnectors with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Britain and Germany. But it has yet to begin building new gas-fired power plants.

"It would require the construction of between six to eight gas-fired generators in Belgium to replace the nuclear capacity," said Pierre Georges, lead EMEA utility analyst at S&P Global.

"The problem is that as of today, no one is willing to build a gas power plant without a market design that would make them profitable."

A Belgian government plan to subsidise investment in gas plants is being reviewed to ensure it meets European Union competition rules, Marghem said.

But the clock is ticking.

"Time is up now, so if we have learned anything from this situation, it is that we should not linger on, we should really go ahead with the construction," Devogelaer told Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies.)

https://www.devdiscourse.com/Article/headlines/225803-belgiums-nuclear-reactors-shutdown-to-be-taken-for-repairing

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