The State extends the life of the Almaraz nuclear power plant until 2030

Barcelona / MadridAlmaraz nuclear power plant gains time. The Spanish government authorized this Friday the extension of the lifespan of its two reactors after the favorable report of the Nuclear Safety Council a month ago. Thus, as published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has renewed the operating authorization for units I and II of the plant until June 8, 2030. It should be remembered that, until now, the Extremaduran nuclear power plant had permission to operate one reactor until 2027 and another until 2028, and was the first in the State to be shut down.

Sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition explain that the decision "is made by weighing the extraordinary circumstances arising from the conflict in the Middle East and the continuation of the war in Ukraine". Thus, the Spanish government points out that the measure has been taken in view of the "volatility" and "uncertainty" of the current geopolitical context and indicates that "the extension, conjunctural, may contribute to moderating consumers' exposure to unforeseen peaks in fossil fuel prices".

"This government's commitment to renewable energies remains intact," indicate ministry sources, who assure that "renewables have improved Spain's competitiveness, have contributed to protecting consumers from fossil fuel price increases, and are generating economic growth and attracting new industrial projects". "Our roadmap is clear, as it has been all these years," they assure from the ministry. "The government will continue to promote an agenda of unprecedented commitment to renewables because we know that it is our main lever for competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and modernization of our economy," they state.

Without altering the definitive cessation

The ministry also points out that the approved extension is limited to 31 months for Unit I and 19 months for Unit II, and maintains that this extension "represents a reduced proportion of the expected average lifespan of the Spanish nuclear power plant fleet", without altering the rest of the schedule or the definitive cessation date of the entire nuclear power plant fleet, which is set for 2035. On paper, the Spanish government plans for the closure of Ascó I in October 2030, Ascó II in October 2032, and Vandellòs II in February 2035. The Ascó Vandellòs II Nuclear Association (ANAV), which operates the Catalan atomic power plants, requested a few weeks ago to maintain the operation of the plants beyond the announced date.

However, sources from the energy sector suggest that if the closure of Almaraz is extended beyond 2028, it may be difficult to comply with the closure schedule for the rest of the State's atomic power plants, as closing a nuclear power plant and preparing it for dismantling requires human and technical resources that make it difficult for more than one closure to coincide at a time. The employers' association Foment del Treball has welcomed the Spanish government's decision to extend Almaraz's activity and has called for the continuity of the Catalan power plants to also be guaranteed. "It is a step in the right direction and confirms what Foment has been advocating for some time: energy policy must be based on technical, economic, and supply security criteria, not on ideological approaches," the employers' association defended in a post on X.

Furthermore, it has also requested the executive to review the nuclear schedule and maintains that the same criterion must be applied to the Ascó I, Ascó II, and Vandellòs II power plants (Tarragona): "Catalonia cannot afford to do without stable, non-emissive energy that is essential for the competitiveness of our industry," it underlined.

However, ministry sources have decoupled the closure schedule of the Catalan power plants from the Almaraz extension. "It does not alter the plans," say these sources, who also assure that the dismantling of power plants can coincide because it is a process that is prepared for more than 15 years and the national nuclear waste company, Enresa, is prepared to do so.

Sources from the Ministry for Ecological Transition maintain that the closure of Almaraz in 2030 will have a very limited impact on electricity generation in Spain. "The closure of Almaraz does not compromise the renewable energy penetration objective," these sources indicate, adding that the impact "will be very limited" because "the reduction in its contribution planned for 2030 will be just over 1%, a marginal percentage that does not significantly alter the country's energy transition path." It should be taken into account that nuclear generation contributes just over 19% of the electricity production in the State, although in the case of Catalonia, with three reactors in operation, the situation is very different because nuclear generation contributes more than 56% of the electricity.

The same ministerial sources indicate that the closure in 2030 will not compromise supply security and, moreover, will not have any cost for citizens, because even though the electricity companies had requested tax reductions for the plants, "no kind of tax reduction or economic compensation is granted to the electricity companies."

Criticism from the PP

The President of the Junta de Extremadura, María Guardiola, has celebrated the decision made by the Spanish government, which, as she pointed out, "gives certainty to a region" and "protects thousands of jobs". In a message published on social networks, Guardiola stated that with the continuity of the plant, "an essential part" of Extremadura "will continue to beat" and highlighted the "fundamental" role of the plant "for the lives of so many towns and families that depend on it".

However, from her party, the PP, there have been no shortage of criticisms of the Spanish government. Núñez Feijóo's party, aligned with major employers' associations, is committed to nuclear energy. For the PP, extending the life of Almaraz is "an acknowledgment of the failure" of Pedro Sánchez's government's energy policy. Furthermore, the PP has accused the Spanish government of amending itself and doing so "secretly, on a Friday, August 14th, publishing it in the BOE and without announcing it beforehand".

For the PP, the "mini-extension" is "a patch on an ideological management by Sánchez" which, as in other aspects, goes "against the EU states". For the PP, the government has deceived citizens because it knew that Almaraz could not be closed and demands that the entire closure schedule for nuclear power plants be canceled.

Sumar distances itself

Those who have also welcomed the Spanish government's decision to extend Almaraz's activity have been the mayoress of Vandellòs i l'Hospitalet de l'Infant (Baix Camp), Assumpció Castellví, and the mayor of Ascó (Ribera d'Ebre), Miquel Àngel Ribes. The mayors consider that the extension of the Extremaduran plant's activity opens the door for a similar decision to be made regarding those in their municipalities. "Dismantling a nuclear plant involves structure, material, and technical personnel; they cannot close them all at once," stated Castellví.

For its part, Sumar, the minority partner in the Spanish government, has shown its displeasure with the decision. "We express our absolute disagreement," said party sources. Extending Almaraz's life "is a decision in service of the oligopoly that hinders the energy transition and mortgages citizens," indicated party sources, who consider that maintaining nuclear energy "obeys corporate pressures and not technical, environmental, or economic competitiveness needs." The Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, from Sumar, has called the extension "a strategic error" and has accused the PSOE of breaking the government agreement with Sumar. For their part, sources from Ecological Transition have downplayed the importance of the clash with Sumar partners and have reduced the disagreement only to Almaraz's closure date, but with an agreement on the commitment to renewables and the closure of nuclear plants.

The extension of Almaraz's life has been rejected by the majority of environmental organizations in the State. On the other hand, it has been well received by Foro Nuclear, the sector's lobby, and also by the company that owns the plant, made up of the State's major electricity companies: Iberdrola (52.7%), Endesa (36%), and Naturgy (11.3%).