 Originally it was built primarily to supply relatively cheap electricity to an aluminum smelting facility, opened by French concern Pechiney at a nearby site in 1971, that for many years used two-thirds of the output of the power plant.In 2006, the installation of a modern steam turbine brought the original electrical output of 449 MW up to 485 MW.In July 2011, Borssele received from the government the permission to burn MOX fuel.