[SocialMedia] Spain confirms plans to close 7 nuclear plants by 2035 -

[SocialMedia] Spain confirms plans to close 7 nuclear plants by 2035 - Spain / Government Confirms Plans To Phase Out Nuclear Power By 2035 nucnet.org/news/government-confirms-plans-to-phase-out-nuclear-power-by-2035-12-4-2023 Move is contentious, with business group recently calling for lifetime extensions Spain on Wednesday (27 December) confirmed plans to close the country’s fleet of seven commercial nuclear power plants by 2035, with the first shutdown scheduled for 2027. The fate of Spain’s nuclear fleet became a key topic during this summer’s electoral campaign, with the conservative opposition People’s Party pledging to reverse the planned phaseout of the nuclear plants, which generate about a fifth of the country’s electricity. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ party, which supports the phaseout plans, won most seats in the election and a coalition deal between centre-left parties that formed a government has confirmed plans for “the orderly and progressive dismantling” of nuclear reactors. The management of radioactive waste and dismantling of the plants will cost about €20.2bn ($22.4bn) and will be paid for by a fund supported by the plants’ operators, the government said. The government, led by prime minister Pedro Sanchez plans to start closing down Spain’s fleet from 2027. According to government plans, Almaraz-1, a 1,011 MW pressurised water reactor unit that began commercial operation in 1983, is the first plant that would close. Recently, one of Spain’s top business lobby groups called for the government to extend the operational lifetimes of the country’s nuclear plants, calling plans to shut them down a “strategic and economic error”. “Ideological positions should not prevent us from recognising the need to extend the useful life of power plants already installed, which guarantee the stability of the system,” said Manuel Perez-Sala, chairman of business lobby Circulo de Empresarios, which says its members include 230 business leaders and top managers. Keeping nuclear plants running requires multi-billion euros investments in aging plants, but offers the assurance of stable power, he said at an energy transition event in Madrid. Industry Wants ‘Open And Honest Dialogue’ His comments came as Circulo de Empresarios released a study (Spanish only) on the energy transition which concluded the government should extend the useful life of nuclear power plants. The study said Spain’s nuclear power plants have not had safety problems and the quality of the operation is “beyond doubt”. In July, Spain’s nuclear energy industry said it wanted to establish an “open and honest dialogue” with the government on the future of the sector. The Madrid-based nuclear group Foro Nuclear said there has been “different information” about the sector's position regarding the future of nuclear energy, but the industry is “fully willing and open to collaborate with the government on the decisions that could be taken on the future of nuclear energy in Spain”. Foro Nuclear warned earlier this year that the energy situation is different to when the phaseout was originally decided in 2019, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A May 2021 International Energy Agency report said Spain should not rule out nuclear energy as an option beyond 2050 with reactor technology having the potential to contribute to decarbonisation through high-temperature heat supply and hydrogen production. Spain’s decision on nuclear comes as countries are considering the technology as a way of increasing energy security and mitigating climate change. A consensus agreed at the recent Cop28 climate summit recognised the need to “accelerate” nuclear energy as a key approach for a deep, rapid and sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – a move hailed by industry representatives and European politicians as a major moment for the future of the sector. Also at Cop28, 22 countries signed a pledge to triple nuclear generation capacity by 2050 from a base year of 2020. # # # ______________________________________ Dan Yurman dan.yurman@outlook.com NeutronBytes Mobile: 216-218-3823 Cleveland, OH more or less