Demirs’ refusal of a permit for the gas-fired power station in Vilvoorde stirs political emotions. Now that it appears that that decision was already taken on October 29, and Demir has not said anything about it to her fellow ministers in the Flemish government, the issue is causing discord in the majority and with the federal government.
Vooruit chairman Conner Rousseau spoke of ‘sabotage’, CD&V chairman Joachim Coens called for the decision to be brought before the consultation committee where the different governments sit together. “The quarrel between the federal and Flemish governments is not working,” Coens previously responded to Radio 1.
date
Federal Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) criticized the date on the documents in Parliament today: 29 October. And that date is remarkable, because Engie Electrabel, which received the subsidies on October 31, was still in the running for federal subsidies to ensure the energy supply via the gas-fired power station in Vilvoorde.
The Vilvoorde power station is one of two projects selected in the Capacity Reimbursement Mechanism (CRM) auctions. The CRM should enable Belgium to have sufficient electricity supply capacity to guarantee our country’s security of supply when it phases out nuclear energy in 2025. For the nuclear exit, Demir therefore took the opposite decision of what is necessary.
Van der Straeten was fierce in the House: “I am carrying out the nuclear exit decided by the previous federal government, and which was also supported by N-VA. This is not a file for ‘backroom politics’.” Moreover, Van der Straeten denounces that “all elements in the file were positive”. “Competent administration is also positive across the board,” adds Van der Straeten.
Permit for gas plant in Wondelgem, despite poorer papers
The power station in Wondelgem, which until now did not participate in the support mechanism for gas-fired power stations and other electrical capacity needed to absorb the nuclear phase-out in 2025, will receive a permit.
A comparison of the files of the gas-fired power stations in Wondelgem and Vilvoorde shows that the power station in Wondelgem, which did receive a permit, emits more nitrogen oxides than the Vilvoorde power station, which did not receive one.
An advice from the regional environmental permit commission, which includes experts from the Flemish administration, also shows that it does not agree with the way in which Demir has handled previous permits for a gas-fired power station in Tessenderlo, using similar arguments as for Vilvoorde.
The Flemish environmental rules oblige gas-fired power stations to take measures to keep nitrogen oxide emissions as low as possible. But the so-called SCR technique also releases ammonia, another substance that can affect nature. For the experts, that’s collateral damage. For Demir, the high ammonia emissions are a reason to refuse the permit.
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