The Dutch government has said it will consider acquiring a stake in the Borssele nuclear power station should a decision be made to extend the operation of the single-unit facility beyond 2033.
The new coalition government has said it is investigating with the operator and shareholders of the station what is needed to make its extended operation possible. The government said it has made a subsidy available to investigate whether it is technically feasible and safe to keep the nuclear power plant in production for longer.
Borssele is 70% owned by the Zeeuwse Energie Houdstermaatschappij, which is owned by decentralised authorities such as the province of Zeeland and various municipalities in Zeeland. The remaining 30% is owned by German utility RWE.
Recent reports in the Netherlands said the incoming government will back plans for the construction of four new large-scale nuclear power reactors in the Netherlands and will more than triple the government funds earmarked for the new build programme from €4.5bn to €14bn ($4.9bn to $15.2 bn), reports have said.
Silvio Erkens, a member of the centre-right VVD that will be part of the new government, said a tender is already being planned by the caretaker government to choose the technology for the first two large nuclear plants.
The incoming coalition government has an agreement to expand on nuclear new build plans out in place by the outgoing government, which is ruling in a caretaker capacity.
Borssele, in the province of Zeeland in the southwest of the Netherlands, is the country’s only commercial nuclear power station. It has a single 482-MW pressurised water reactor unit that began commercial operation in 1973. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, in 2022 it provided a 3.3% share of the country’s electricity production.
