14 Jul (NucNet): Spain’s High Court has ruled today in favour of closing the single-unit Santa Maria de Garoña nuclear power plant in 2013, confirming an order by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce.
The single-unit plant, which began commercial operation in 1971, is now scheduled to be shut down permanently on 6 July 2013.
Nuclenor, the Iberdrola and Endesa joint venture that operates the plant in northern Spain, said in a statement on its website that it was waiting for the assessment of the High Court’s ruling by its legal team before “deciding on measures and appropriate legal action”.
The company said the ruling does not question the safety of the installation and is based on political issues.
Garoña complies with all technical and legal standards that guarantee the safety of the installation to be able to continue to operate, Nuclenor said.
Nuclear industry group Foro Nuclear said the Garoña plant meets all the requirements to operate beyond 2013 and there is no technical reason for its closure.
The group said there are more than 90 nuclear reactors of the same technology as Garoña in commercial operation worldwide.
Nuclenor had asked for a 10-year life extension for the plant, but the government has said it wants to phase out nuclear energy in the country when the lifespan of current reactors expires.
Spain has eight nuclear units in commercial operation. The country’s oldest nuclear unit, the 142-megawatt Jose Cabrera-1, was permanently shut down in 2006 in line with a decision made by the CSN in 2002.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Spain Confirms Final Shutdown Of Jose Cabrera After 38 Years Of Operation (News No. 84, 27 April 2006)
Spain’s Nuclear Industry Criticises ‘Irresponsible’ Garona Decision (News No. 45, 2 July 2009)
