Borssele Nuclear Power Station — Netherlands

Borssele Nuclear Power Station is a 515 MW nuclear power station in Zeeland, Netherlands. It is operated by EPZ. Based on reported annual generation of 3,221 GWh, it can supply roughly 920k homes. It ranks #19 of 119 Netherlands power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 3.0% of Netherlands's electricity; the national grid averages 254 gCO₂/kWh (54.2% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1019300.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500205; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as pressurized water reactor. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Load factor

71%, from 3,221 GWh of reported generation

Generation trend

3,675 GWh in 2015 and 3,221 GWh in 2017 (−12%)

Highest and lowest year

2016: 3,726 GWh; 2017: 3,221 GWh

Share of Netherlands nuclear capacity

89.6% of 575 MW across 2 plants in this dataset

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by EPZ.

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 51.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 13% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 56/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #1 largest nuclear power plant of 2 in Netherlands by capacity.

Netherlands has 2 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 575 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• EPZ · Wind · 24 MW · Zeeland
• Sloe · Gas · 870 MW · Zeeland
• Scaldia · Solar · 54.5 MW · Zeeland
• Flushing outer · Wind · 1.6 MW · Zeeland
• flushing · Wind · 2.3 MW · Zeeland
• ELSTA · Gas · 460 MW · Zeeland

Location

Coordinates 51.4312, 3.7174 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions