Spain: request for extension of the Almaraz license.

The Spanish government has forwarded CNAT's request for the extension of the operating license of the Almaraz nuclear power plant to the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), which will issue an advisory report on whether the extension should be approved.

CNAT officially requested on October 30 the extension of the operating license for Blocks I and II of the Almaraz plant for an additional three years. This decision, taken at an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors and the shareholders' general assembly, aims to extend the operation of the two units until 2030. It is currently planned that these reactors will be shut down in 2027, in line with Spain's 2019 policy of phasing out nuclear energy.

The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) announced that on November 17 it received a request from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge to issue a mandatory report on the request for modification of the Almaraz plant's operating license. The law provides that CSN's report on nuclear safety, radiation protection and physical security is mandatory, and in the event of a negative assessment, it is binding for the Ministry.

Under the regulations, CSN must deliver its report to the Ministry at least two months before the expiration of the current license. This corresponds to November 1, 2027 (for Block I) and October 31, 2028 (for Block II).

The extension request comes at a time when the Spanish nuclear industry is advocating for re-examining the plan for the gradual shutdown of nuclear power plants. Spain's seven operating nuclear reactors generate about 20% of the country's electricity.

In February, 32 industry companies signed a manifesto calling for renegotiation of the 2019 agreement on phased shutdown, arguing that the agreement was made in an industrial, geopolitical and economic context that is radically different from today’s reality. We remind that the Iberian Peninsula experienced a total collapse of the grid in April this year, which relied almost entirely on renewable energy sources – which, according to some energy experts, demonstrated the fragility of grids that rely solely on renewable energy choices.

The Almaraz nuclear power plant, which currently supplies electricity to more than 7% of Spain's consumption (equivalent to 4 million homes) and employs around 4,000 people, is first on the shutdown list. CNAT claims that the plant, with an annual investment of 50 million euros in upgrading equipment, is in optimal technical condition to continue operating until 2030, meeting all safety requirements.

And once CSN's regulatory report is approved and delivered, the Ministry will be able to make an informed decision on whether to continue operating the plant.