Spain, a European renewable energy leader, is under increasing pressure to reverse its plans to phase out its nuclear power plants by 2035.
At the height of enthusiasm for nuclear power in the 1980s, Spain had eight nuclear power plants providing 38% of its electricity. Now it has five, providing 20% power.
Under the country’s nuclear phase-out plan, the remaining factories will be closed in the next decade as the country focuses on green energy sources such as solar and wind, according to the government of the country’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
But with plans for the oldest and most powerful atomic plant in Spain in 2027-28, Spain, Spain’s oldest and most powerful atomic plant closed, in the 2027-28 approach, Spain calls on the footsteps of other European countries that are restoring its nuclear energy.
Two reactors in Almaraz produce 7% of the total electricity generated by the fourth largest economy in the EU.
The decision of Spain’s decision to adopt a completely different industrial, geopolitical, social and economic environment in a completely different industrial, geopolitical, social and economic environment” was no longer meaningful, the Nuclear Forum’s Great Lobby said in a statement.
It added that atomic energy is needed to meet Spain’s electricity demands due to the growing sales of electric vehicles and the expansion of data centers to accommodate more use of AI.
– “Absolutely necessary” –
Ignacio Sanchez Galan, chairman of Spanish energy company Iberdrola, who runs several atomic power plants as well as renewable energy farms, said nuclear energy is “absolutely necessary” to keep the lights.
Iberdrola is one of about 30 companies that signed the declaration last month, calling for the extension of Spain’s nuclear power plants.
“Premature removal of this infrastructure will cause irreparable economic and social damage,” the declaration said.
According to the International Energy Agency, the world has the highest interest in the nuclear sector since the oil crisis in the 1970s since the surge in the Ukrainian war.
The Netherlands and Sweden are planning to build new nuclear power plants, while the Belgian new Conservative government reverses its two-year commitment to phase out atomic energy.
Italy’s cabinet opened the door to return to nuclear power last month after its last reactor was closed 25 years ago.
– ‘Not ready’ –
The main opposition party of Spain’s conservative main opposition (PP) has increased the pressure.
It proposed a motion approved by parliament calling on the government to keep the nuclear power plant functioning.
During a visit to the Almaraz plant last month, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the influential PP head of the Madrid regional government, said the measure was necessary to “protect employment and energy sovereignty” and warned that Spain was “not ready to replace nuclear energy”.
A PwC study shows that domestic consumers’ electricity prices could rise by 23%, and that companies could rise by 35% if nuclear reactors are shut down in the country.
Giving up nuclear power is a “significant change” because it means replacing “constant and predictable energy supply” with “more fluctuating” sources such as solar and wind, Enric Bartlett, professor of environmental law at Esade Law School, told AFP.
But if Spain generates power through other means by 2035, and “proper transport and storage networks,” it should be possible to shut down the remaining nuclear plants “without interference”, he added.
“Investment has to increase dramatically,” Bartlett said.
VAB/DS/IMM/RL
