Walter Finch
SPAIN is facing increasing pressure to abandon its plans to phase out nuclear power by 2035 amid a darkly uncertain economic and geopolitical landscape.
Once enthusiastic about nuclear energy with eight plants providing 38 percent of its electricity in the 1980s, now it operates just five facilities generating 20 percent of its power.
These reactors were primarily constructed between the 1970s and 1980s, making them several decades old.
Under socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s 2019 plan, the remaining plants will close over the next decade.
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As the scheduled 2027-28 closure of Almaraz plant approaches, however, opposition has intensified, with business groups and opposition parties citing rising energy demands and economic concerns.
The plant’s two reactors generate around 7% of Spain’s total electricity.
The Nuclear Forum lobby group argues the decision ‘was adopted in a completely different industrial, geopolitical, social and economic context’ and no longer makes sense without viable alternatives.
Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galan called nuclear energy ‘absolutely necessary’ to keep the lights on.
Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence revolution is notoriously energy-intensive and Spain has already announced its intentions to position itself at the forefront of hosting data centres in Europe.
The conservative PP has successfully pushed parliament to approve a motion urging the government to maintain nuclear operations, with Madrid’s regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso warning Spain is ‘not ready to replace nuclear energy.’
A PwC study suggests electricity prices could rise by 23% for households and 35% for businesses if nuclear reactors close.
Environmental law professor Enric Bartlett believes closing the plants without disruption is possible with sufficient alternative capacity and appropriate infrastructure, but would require ‘a significant increase in investment.’
