For our association, the primary objective of the energy transition is to ensure that all energy in Belgium is produced in a decarbonised and socially sustainable way. This applies not only to the 90 TWh/year of electricity, but to the total of 430 TWh/year of final energy, which is currently supplied mainly by fossil fuels.
To meet this target, Belgium would have at least to double its electricity production. It is therefore crucial to ensure that the electricity mix becomes socially sustainable.
For 100TWh, the following 7 conditions are necessary to achieve this :
1. The electricity generation and distribution sector must be capable of meeting national demand and be resilient.
2. The electricity sector must be sovereign and independent of suppliers from outside the European Economic Area.
3. In an optimised electricity mix, nuclear power must provide the base production. (the “baseload”).
4. Renewables must be charged for the additional costs of making them dispatchable.
5. The proportions of nuclear power and renewables in the electricity mix must be optimised in order to make electricity prices as cheap as possible.
6. Some electricity generation systems should work off-grid or as hybrid systems.
7. Subsidies for decarbonised electricity production should be abolished, as should all means of distorting the market.
Given the importance of nuclear power, it must also be socially sustainable, and to achieve this it must meet 3 requirements :
1. Nuclear safety must be maintained at the highest level.
2. Nuclear waste management must be optimised.
3. Training and research must be relaunched.
