Dutch nuclear new build timeline set to slip
The Netherlands is unlikely to have a new nuclear power plant online by 2035, as previously planned, Minister of Environment and Green Growth Sophie Hermans has told parliament. She said the government is now including Eemshaven among the list of potential sites for two new reactors.
In December 2021, the Netherlands' coalition government placed nuclear power at the heart of its climate and energy policy. Based on preliminary plans, two new reactors would be completed around 2035 and each have a capacity of 1000-1650 MWe. The two reactors would provide 9-13% of the Netherlands' electricity production in 2035. The cabinet announced in December 2022 that it currently sees the existing Borssele nuclear power plant site as the most suitable location for the construction of the new reactors.
As well as Borssele, two other locations are being considered for the reactors: the Tweede Maasvlakte near Rotterdam and Terneuzen in Zeeland. Eemshaven in Groningen had previously been excluded due to strong local opposition.
However, Hermans has now said that, based on the advice of the Dutch attorney general (the State Advocate), Eemshaven will again be included in the list of potential locations.
"This is a dilemma for the cabinet," she said in a letter to parliament. "On the one hand, the cabinet does not consider it appropriate to investigate Eemshaven in view of the agreements made to remove Eemshaven as a guarantee area. On the other hand, the cabinet considers due care and robust decision-making to be crucial.
"All things considered and with a view to the advice of the State Advocate, the cabinet concludes that it is unfortunately not possible to exclude the Eemshaven area from the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure in advance and at the same time arrive at a legally tenable decision. Failure to investigate the Eemshaven area leads to too great a legal risk, which could ultimately result in the project decision being annulled by the Council of State."
She added: "Not including Eemshaven would in all probability lead to (more) delays in the future, because additional investigation would have to be carried out at a very late stage in order to reach a sustainable decision. The impact will then only be greater, because part of the investigation would then have to be done again. Moreover, this would significantly hinder other work tracks, such as financing and technology selection."
Hermans said she will make a decision on the preferred location for the two new reactors, in consultation with the Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, once the location investigation has been completed.
"As soon as possible this year, the government will announce which location alternatives it will investigate. Then more will become clear about the planning of the location choice, which until now was set at mid-2025," she said. "It is clear that this year is no longer feasible for the location choice.
"What this delay means for the final construction and delivery of the two nuclear reactors is not yet clear. However, it does not seem realistic to have the first reactor operational in 2035. A great many steps still have to be completed before we can start building two new reactors. Both in the spatial procedure, in the tender, in the granting of permits, and in the final construction. A detailed planning of all these steps is not yet available at this time."
The Dutch government earlier awarded contracts to Westinghouse and to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to conduct technical feasibility studies on the deployment of their respective reactors at Borssele, saying it also intended to award a similar contract to EDF. In November, Amentum of the USA was selected to review and advise on the studies submitted by the three potential reactor vendors.
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