Having studied the second year of my Master’s in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems at KU Leuven, I gained many insights to the shifting energy landscape in Belgium. If like me, you are looking to make KU Leuven your new home university you might be interested to know about country’s energy landscape and opportunities for young engineers!
Belgium is a small, population-dense country located in the heart of Europe. It has many interconnections with its neighbours such as: the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom – and often experiences transit power flows, influenced by the amount of renewable generation in the European system. System expansion choices and energy policy in Belgium are therefore significantly implicated by these cross-European trends as well as changes in public opinion within the country itself.
Energy sources
Per the International Energy Agency, Belgium consumed 87.8 TWh of electricity in 2019. In efforts to decarbonise, Belgium has significantly reduced its reliance on coal for electricity, having retired all major coal-fired power plants.
Further considering Belgium’s coastal location bordering the North Sea, the country boasts a large installed capacity of wind turbines: as of mid-2021, this amounts to over 2 GW of offshore wind and over 2 GW of onshore wind. In the coming years, over 2 GW of additional offshore capacity are planned and even more onshore.
The balance between wind and nuclear energy
Among other reasons, the uptake of wind generation has been motivated by the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. In 2003, the federal government made the decision to phase out all nuclear generation for commercial electricity production between 2015 and 2025.
Belgium currently has seven reactors in commercial operation, with an installed capacity of almost 6 GW: four in Doel (near Antwerp) and three in Tihange (near Huy). First connected in the 1970s, they had an expected lifetime of around 40 years. In 2019, nuclear energy still accounted for almost half of all domestic generation!
Energy transition challenges
The decommissioning of Belgium’s nuclear power plants represents a significant loss of stable baseload, a major concern in grid expansion planning. Wind energy is known to be variable and, correspondingly, difficult to accurately predict. Therefore, it cannot make up the entirety of the lost capacity; as such, gas-fired power plants are also in the works.
Though boasting smaller emissions than other fossil fuel alternatives, gas turbines nevertheless lock Belgium into fossil fuel consumption for decades to come. However, they offer reliability and flexibility in balancing fluctuating generation and demand, which will be increasingly critical in a system with increasing quantities of intermittent energy sources.
The need for grid planning
As nuclear goes offline in Belgium, wind increases, and gas turbines are built around the country, the location and nature of generation will change. The large infeed from offshore wind will move eastwards towards inland load centers; the center of gravity of the electricity system will shift towards the North Sea.
With regards to the location of onshore generation, it will be increasingly distributed, with small-scale solar PV and onshore wind leading the movement. By nature, the system will have to be adequately equipped and flexible to respond to this intermittent distributed generation (DG) on a local level, satisfying the distributed demand.
All the while, cross-border dynamics will change as neighboring countries modify their individual systems as well. As a result, power flows through the system will be significantly impacted, necessitating a new grid planning methodologies to ensure reliable and secure supply.
Opportunities for young engineers
The shifts in the energy landscape in Belgium pose interesting opportunities for young engineers keen to solve energy challenges; in fact, this was the primary motivation behind my Master’s thesis.
Beyond Master’s the local industry is continuously evolving, the Belgian Transmission System Operator (TSO), Elia, is working on upgrading their technology while also working with neighboring TSOs on cross-border infrastructure projects. In the last few years, Belgium commissioned two novel HVDC projects: the undersea Nemo link to the UK, and the Alegro link to Germany!
Studying an EIT InnoEnergy Master’s programme can put you directly in contact with key stakeholders and industry players. There are two which can lead you to study at KU Leuven: The Master in Energy for Smart Cities and mine, the Master in Smart Electrical Networks and Systems. Check them out today!
KU Leuven Information Session
7 October 2021. 16.00 CET. There is no surprise that Belgium has been attracting top engineering talent as the region’s energy scene has been evolving constantly in recent years! Join EIT InnoEnergy Master School student and KU Leuven university representative to find out what it’s like to study at one of the oldest and most renowned institutions in Europe!