Work will be carried out in two phases and last 10 years
Spain’s Enresa, in charge of decommissioning of retired nuclear plants in the country, has assumed ownership of the single-unit Santa Maria de Garona nuclear power station as it begins a €475m ($528m) decommissioning programme that will last for 10 years.
The project will be funded from the national radioactive waste fund, which Enresa manages and which is financed by contributions from the owners of operating nuclear power plants.
Enresa president José Luis Navarro said after the signing of the documents of transfer that the project represents “a great challenge” for the company, for which “we are prepared”.
The transfer of ownership from former owner and plant operator Nuclenor culminates an administrative licensing process that began in 2020 and allows the first phase of the dismantling project to begin.
Enresa said this initial phase is expected to last three years. Activities will include the removal of spent fuel to interim onsite storage and the dismantling of the turbine building.
A second phase, for which Enresa will need separate authorisation, will involve the dismantling of the reactor and other buildings. This phase will run from 2026-2033 and will culminate with the environmental restoration of the site, in Burgos, northern Spain.
Spain is planning to phase out its fleet of seven commercial reactors. The government’s energy and climate plan says installed nuclear capacity will remain at current levels of about 7,100 MW until at least 2025, but will be reduced to just over 3,000 MW from 2030 onwards.
According to Madrid-based industry group Foro Nuclear, Spain’s nuclear plants generated 20.26% of the country’s electricity in 2022, despite having just 5.98% of the total installed power.
Santa Maria de Garona, a 446-MW boiling water reactor unit, was permanently shut down in 2017. Two other plants, Jose Cabrera-1 and Vandellos-1 have also been permanently shut down.
