Life extensions ‘most economical way to generate electricity’
A Spanish nuclear youth group has launched an initiative to campaign against the closure of the Almaraz nuclear power station, scheduled for 2027.
A spokesperson for Jóvenes Nucleares, an association that groups together young professionals and students from the Spanish nuclear sector, said 2024 is key for the plant and for Spanish society, as it corresponds to the deadline for reversing the closure decision and extending its operation beyond 2027.
The spokesperson said life extension means the purchase of more fuel stocks, new reviews of equipment, components and systems, and the extension of the individualised temporary storage facility for the management of spent fuel.
“All this requires time and foresight for thousands of professionals to carry out these activities,” the spokesperson said.
Jóvenes Nucleares said it believes the closure plan must be reconsidered. Spanish nuclear power plants generate affordable, clean energy and operate at full power more than 90% of the time.
Extending the life of nuclear plants is the most economical way to generate electricity per megawatt, the group said.
Ignacio Araluce, the president of Madrid-based industry group Foro Nuclear, told NucNet recently that he would like to see the lives of the existing units extended to at least 50 years of operations.
In 2023, Spain’s seven commercial reactors generated over 20% of the country’s electricity consumption, and managed to prevent around 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to Foro Nuclear data.
In January, Spain’s government confirmed plans to close the country’s fleet of nuclear power plants by 2035, with the first shutdown scheduled for 2027.
According to the plans, Almaraz-1, a 1,011 MW pressurised water reactor unit that began commercial operation in 1983, is the first plant that would close.
In November, 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”.
