In 2019, the government agreed with major electricity companies on a program to phase out all nuclear power plants in the country, which would lead to a complete atomic blackout. agreement with Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP It envisions the gradual closure of facilities that will begin in 2027 and end with the final closure in 2035.
While PP, Vox and Ciudadanos are pressing for it to review the closing schedule to extend deadlines amid the energy crisis, Management is determined to defend the agreed closing dates without changing them, emphasizing that neither company has conveyed its will. deadlines or delaying the shutdown is a solution to respond to emergencies caused by the previous crisis.
Meanwhile, nuclear power plants have so far avoided a direct confrontation with the Government of Pedro Sánchez over the possibility of extending the life of the facilities. However, the nuclear industry points out that there are no technical impossibilities for the plants to be operational outside of the planned dates, but warns that they will only do so if their viability is guaranteed. That is, utilities are not averse to continuing to operate their reactors if profitability is guaranteed by some kind of stable wage or fixed income, as well as less taxes than currently assumed.
The Executive submitted to the European Commission a proposal to reform the Community regulation on the wholesale electricity market, in order to abandon the existing system of daily floating price fixing for gas and coal power plants; nuclear power plants, hydroelectric and renewable energies have a fixed price for years thanks to the contracts made with the electricity system. Brussels is working on its own electricity market reform plan to combat energy price volatility, and the Spanish government is pressing for changes to speed up a European deal this year or early next year.
Awaiting the final community agreement and knowing the terms of future reform aimed at controlling fluctuations in electricity prices, Nuclear companies warn that the deadlines for deciding whether to review the power plants’ closing schedule are not unlimited. and if you want to delay the first closures the decision cannot be delayed.
And a decision needs to be made this year or next year at the latest to delay the first closures, especially Almaraz I in 2027. Thus, nuclear companies are mandating the current Executive (which this year will need to review the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan along with the generation technologies to be used by 2030) or the next Government that emerges from the elections scheduled for 2030. end of the year
From employer Nuclear Forum from the companies that own the plants, as well as from the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), The regulatory authority, which oversees the safety of power plants in the country, emphasizes that the process before the planning of the necessary investments and resources and the working and preparation procedure for the extension of the operating permit of each nuclear power plant require a period of time. about three years. Therefore, avoiding the first reactor shutdown planned for 2027 requires a decision no later than next year.
“The decision to stop or continue the nuclear power plant is not made in a day. A factory should have a forecast of closure or operation several years in advance. In a recent interview with EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA of Iberian Press, Ignacio Araluce, president of Foro Nuclear, said that nuclear fuel should be stockpiled, agreements signed with contractors and component suppliers, an employment policy established…” group.
“The Almaraz power plant is expected to close in 2027 and cannot change its position to continue operating in the same year. You have to decide about three years in advance, so To continue with the Almaraz plant, a decision needs to be made in 2024. It is very nuanced that it is not urgent, we have about a year and a half or two if we want it to continue working,” Araluce said.
The Nuclear Safety Council, the independent inspector for the safety of the industry and facilities, confirms that the operating procedure for a new operating permit for a facility requires a period of two to three years. “Any change in the exploit authorization schedule requires re-passing the regulator. And the entire analysis process takes about three years of work,” he said. CSN President Juan Carlos Lentijo“It requires several years of prior and previous work. “If a factory wants to extend the permit a year ago, it will have to wait to stop,” he said.
Convert nuclear energy to renewable energy
CSN and the utility companies themselves work with the closure schedule agreed with the Government as a roadmap for operating and planning deadlines. The gradual and gradual shutdown of seven Spanish reactors agreed with major electricity companies in 2019, Almaraz I in 2027, Almaraz II in 2028, Ascó I in 2030, Cofrentes in 2030, Ascó II projected to close in 2032, and Vandellós II in 2035. and also Trillo in 2035.
After the “radioactive purification” work, which requires 10 more years of work from the closure of the power plants, the dismantling of the power plants will be stopped. Free “valuable and attractive” sites for use in other industrial or energy usesLike the implementation of renewable power plants, according to the head of CSN. And in the areas of old power plants, connections to the high voltage grid or electrical substations will be listed, which will be very useful to reuse for renewable installations.