Belgium's main political parties have committed to a plan to shut down the country's three oldest nuclear power reactors in accordance with its 2003 nuclear exit law. The shutdowns are set to take place by 2015, but are conditioned on finding enough alternative energy sources for the 5,860 megawatts that will need to be replaced. The Belgian government first passed a law in which all seven reactors were to be eliminated by 2025, but the law was never implemented before the breakup of the federal government in 2010. The plan would halt a 2009 agreement with GDF Suez, the owner of the country's remaining power stations, that would have allowed it to keep the three oldest reactors open until 2025. "If it turns out we won’t face shortages and prices would not skyrocket, we intend to stick to the nuclear exit law of 2003," said a spokeswoman for Belgium’s energy and climate ministry. However, some analysts are skeptical of the country's ability to maintain its energy supply. "The question is: is the replacement capacity ready by 2015 and according to the Belgian energy regulator CREG it won't be," said Johan Albrecht, an analyst of environmental and energy policy at the Itinera think-tank. Currently, some 55% of energy consumed in Belgium comes from nuclear energy, and 90% of all energy from domestic sources comes from the two power stations at risk of being shut down. For the full story, see http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/11/02/Belgium-moves-toward-nuclear-phase-out/UPI-73481320229080/ and http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/31/us-belgium-nuclear-idUSTRE79U1YY20111031.