A draft law proposed by Spain’s government, along with existing taxes and levies, will increase the financial burden on the country’s nuclear fleet and push reactors towards closure, Spanish nuclear industry group Foro Nuclear said.

Foro Nuclear said nuclear power generators are incurring losses because of “disproportionate, discriminatory and confiscatory taxation”.

Every year operators invest around €300m in nuclear plants, but because of low electricity process they had a negative cash flow of around €500m in 2020, and losses above € 1bn, according a report prepared for Foro Nuclear by PwC. The draft law will increase this negative cash flow, Foro Nuclear said.

Since 2005, the increase in taxes and levies on nuclear operators has been close to €20/MWh.