Move follows approval of recent parliamentary motion calling for lifetime extensions
Companies representing the Spanish nuclear industry have signed a manifesto calling for the long-term operation of the country’s nuclear power plants as momentum grows for a reconsideration of longstanding government policy that would see the reactor fleet shut down by 2035.
The manifesto, signed by 32 companies, calls for “dialogue and renegotiation” of the 2019 agreement on the phased shutdown of nuclear power plants.
The release of the manifesto follows approval of a motion by Spain’s lower house of parliament that calls on the government to extend the operating lifetimes of the country’s nuclear power plants. The motion was put forward by the right-leaning People’s Party.
The manifesto says: “This agreement was made under an industrial, geopolitical, social and economic context that is vastly different from today’s reality.
“Our industrial network must not see its competitiveness reduced due to the decision to shut down nuclear power plants starting in 2027, beginning with the Almaraz nuclear power plant, without first securing a viable alternative involving all CO2-free energy sources,” it says.
Legislation means Almaraz-1 is scheduled to shut down permanently in 2027 and Almaraz-2 in 2028.
The companies say that extending the operation of Spain’s nuclear plants would “ensure the sustainability of our increasingly demanding energy system without jeopardising security of supply or the expansion of renewable infrastructures. Additionally, it would reinforce geostrategic independence from other nations”.
But to achieve this “it is crucial to ensure the economic viability of nuclear power plants, with a special emphasis on the excessive tax burden imposed on the sector”.
Madrid-based nuclear group Foro Nuclear has repeatedly said that nuclear energy has endured an “asphyxiating” increase in fiscal pressure over the last five years.
It said the specific tax burden borne by the nuclear fleet has increased by 70% in this period, going from €16/MWh to €28/MWh. This discriminates against nuclear generation compared to other technologies and makes its economic viability unsustainable, Foro Nuclear said.
In October, the group confirmed it had filed a legal challenge with the country’s top court against a 30% increase of the nuclear waste levy, with the main operators of the country’s nuclear plants moving to join the fight.
Spain’s fleet of seven commercial nuclear power plants generated just over 52 TWh net of electricity in 2024, accounting for 19.57% of the country’s total net electricity production, Foro Nuclear said.
