The unusual nuclear blackout in Spain due to storms

BarcelonaSpain currently has seven nuclear reactors, but only three are currently operating, as one is disconnected from the grid due to recharging, and three others have been shut down. The cause lies in this spring's storms, which have boosted renewable energy production—particularly wind and hydropower—and the drop in demand due to the Easter holidays.

Thus, the Almaraz I and II and Ascó I plants have reduced production and have even been disconnected. Trillo, meanwhile, is in the recharging process, and nuclear generation is maintained at Ascó II, Vandellòs II, and Cofrentes, although the latter will be disconnected on Thursday, as confirmed by the sector's trade association, Foro Nuclear. This is because the price per MWh has fallen to record lows (€12.14 this Wednesday, with further declines expected over the holidays due to reduced demand), and renewable energy production is very high.

In fact, both Almaraz reactors were shut down last night. Sources from the nuclear company indicated that at these market prices, it is not profitable to sell electricity on the grid, as it would incur losses. Almaraz is owned by the main state electricity companies: Iberdrola (53%), Endesa (36%), and Naturgy (11%). Yesterday, the group that operates the plant, CNAT (Centrales Nucleares Almaraz-Trillo), announced the shutdown of both Almaraz reactors starting at midnight, without setting a date for when they will be brought back online, due to the economic unviability of high nuclear taxation, low demand these days, and high generation.

According to sources from the company, all of this generates "inefficiency in the electrical system" in which nuclear power plants "are excluded from the market." The same sources emphasized that the plants are in perfect technical and safety condition, and the shutdown, which is part of the plant's normal operations, will be carried out in accordance with established internal procedures.

Viability compromised by taxation

They also explained that while the Almaraz nuclear power plant has "very competitive" operating costs, its economic viability "is seriously compromised by the unaffordable tax burden, which accounts for more than 75 percent of variable costs." According to the designated electricity market operator (OMIE), the average price per megawatt hour (MWh) this Tuesday is 12.14 euros, while taxes alone for the production of one megawatt hour by nuclear plants is 28 euros on average annually.

Last March, Almaraz I also went on a scheduled shutdown—for eighteen days—due to a similar situation in the energy market. In fact, last spring renewable energy production in the State also soared, and The wholesale market, for the first time in history, reached negative prices.

The Nuclear Forum recalled this Wednesday that nuclear power supplies 20% of the electricity in Spain annually, and therefore noted that it has been "demanding for years a reduction in the suffocating tax burden that hinders the intrinsic competitiveness of power plants and makes them unviable, especially in situations. For the nuclear industry employers' association, this is "a penalized technology with a tax burden much higher than other sources, and that is obliged to pay these taxes and fees regardless of the price it receives on the wholesale market."