The government has begun updating its long‑term plan for handling radioactive waste and the costs involved. The Ministry of Ecological Transition has launched a process to inform the public about the proposal for a new project, the Radioactive Waste General Plan (PGRR). The current plan dates back to 2006 and is now outdated. A new program is needed to define how nuclear waste will be managed, how reactors will be dismantled, and how the actions will be financed.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition has recommended two paths for addressing nuclear waste over the next six decades. One option envisions a single temporary central nuclear cemetery to be ready by 2030. The other would place seven temporary decentralized warehouses at each operating nuclear plant. Regardless of the chosen temporary approach, a deep geological repository (DGR) would be developed to be operational by 2073 and hold waste indefinitely.
Estimates suggest Spain will spend between 24.435 and 26.560 billion euros by 2100 for managing nuclear waste, dismantling plants, and long‑term waste management across the country. Of this total, 7.326 billion euros would already be expended by the end of 2022, with 17.109 and 19.234 billion euros still to be spent under the single cemetery or seven‑facility scenarios. About 4.500 billion euros are tied to dismantling plants, while 8.350 and 10.285 billion euros correspond to spent fuel and high‑level waste management from the plants alone.
The government has agreed on a program with electricity companies to gradually close all Spanish nuclear facilities between 2027 and 2035, which would lead to a nationwide shutdown of nuclear power. The plan calls for seven reactors to be phased out, agreed in 2019 with Iberdrola, Endesa, and Naturgy. Specific shutdown timelines include Almaraz I in 2027, Almaraz II in 2028, Ascó I in 2030, Cofrentes in 2030, Ascó II in 2032, Vandellós II in 2035, and Trillo in 2035, with gradual closure over the years.
A single cemetery or seven warehouses
The government is weighing both options, though the seven‑warehouse plan would cost around 2.1 billion euros to establish across seven sites. The Ministry notes that final decisions require broad consensus among social, political, and institutional actors, a point emphasized by Vice President Teresa Ribera.
Enresa, the publicly traded company responsible for radioactive waste management, prepared an initial proposal to approve a new PGRR in 2020. At that time the company favored a single central warehouse, expected to be operational by 2028, while leaving room for multiple warehouses in different locations. Its earlier cost estimate for waste management over the century stood at 23.044 billion euros.
The government under Pedro Sánchez, who recently assumed office, paused the central nuclear‑facility project. The Villar de Cañas site in Cuenca became a focal point, with speculation that the plan would not proceed. If the decision leans toward a single destination for all waste, a new site would need to be identified for the storage facility.
The project faced leadership changes and rising costs tied to technical uncertainties. Land quality concerns raised by the Nuclear Safety Council and independent studies have posed challenges that must be addressed to move forward.
The construction of a temporary nuclear waste storage facility has fallen behind schedule. The original plan aimed to be ready by the end of 2018. More than a decade after the Council of Ministers assigned Villar de Cañas to host the nuclear cemetery, no warehouse has been completed.
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