Countdown to nuclear closure... or its new life

This plunged the Iberian Peninsula into complete darkness. However, if any lessons can be learned from that episode, if the country is to avoid repeating that third-world image, it is that the so-called energy mix cannot do without one of its most stable and now demonstrably cleanest and safest energy sources overnight. This is something that even Teresa Ribera, the former Deputy Prime Minister, a staunch anti-nuclear activist, recognises, having changed her mind about its benefits, for example in France, as soon as she settled into her seat at the European Commission.

Yes, we are talking about nuclear energy, which has gained such a bad reputation, both because the general public associated its origin with the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and with the first accidents that occurred in the early power stations, and, above all, after the Chernobyl disaster, although the latter has not been sufficiently explained because that Ukrainian plant was not focused on commercial electricity production but on bomb production, a more than substantial difference. 

A group of journalists from the Association of European Journalists (APE) visited and toured the Almaraz nuclear power plant, whose two reactors are scheduled to be shut down in 2027 and 2028, respectively. It therefore seems contradictory that this plant, owned by Iberdrola, Naturgy, Endesa and EDP, is investing €50 million in improving, upgrading and modernising the plant's equipment.

This upgrade means nothing less than bringing the facilities to their optimum level, which its twin plant in North Anna (Virginia, USA) will operate for the next 80 years. In this regard, it should be noted that, in the United States, in addition to the North Anna plant, there are seven other reactors that will operate until 2105, while there are another 80 reactors that will operate until 2085. 

Located in Extremadura, Almaraz covers 7% of the national electricity demand, which is the annual equivalent of 4 million Spanish households. Furthermore, together with Trillo, located in the province of Guadalajara, its main destination for production is the Community of Madrid, whose energy needs, far from decreasing in the coming years, may multiply, both due to population growth and the prospects for the installation of data centres, which are large energy consumers and essential drivers of development in the immediate future.

The announcement of the closure of this and other power stations, a decision based more on clichés from the past than on the strict reality of the safety of this energy production, has caused considerable upheaval, not only among its main customers but also in the region where it is located. An important focus of economic and social development, it generates 3,000 highly skilled jobs. Spanish workers in the nuclear industry are considered among the best in the world, as accredited by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), based in Paris, which has twice in a row awarded Almaraz the level of excellence. In the event that the closure goes ahead as planned, but in the future, and in line with the global trend of promoting both large and smaller power stations, it is decided to make up for lost time and facilities, the loss of this talent would be very difficult to replace, especially as these technicians have to continuously update their highly specialised studies throughout their professional lives.

The nuclear power plants in operation in Spain account for 20% of the country's total energy, a business for which they pay €1.6 billion in taxes. This figure is considered suffocating by the operators. Of this amount, Almaraz contributes €435 million in taxes, following the 30% increase in the ENRESA tax, of which around €100 million corresponds to Extremadura. These amounts exceed all operating costs combined, which has led the managers of these companies to consider closing them down due to a clear lack of profitability and operating at a loss.

The fact that the various political, economic and social forces in the regions where the power stations are located, mainly in Extremadura, which produces and exports six times more energy than it consumes, can be interpreted as a call to reconsider the abandonment of nuclear energy. This is especially true when we consider the example of Germany, whose power stations were closed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and whose production has been replaced, surprise surprise, by burning coal and gas, i.e. releasing billions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

And, last but not least, there is the issue of waste, which is currently stored in a special area at each operating power station, after the option of a centralised temporary storage facility in Villar de Cañas (Cuenca) was rejected. What would happen to this waste once the plant is closed and all its components dismantled? Would it be necessary to maintain an exclusive area indefinitely, maintained and monitored, with no possibility of using the abandoned land for other purposes?

For the time being, deer graze freely around the Almaraz plant. There are only a few months left before the decision to close the plant becomes irreversible due to the measures that must be taken beforehand. For example, no one would renew fuel (uranium) purchase contracts knowing that the plant is closing and that such material would no longer be useful, nor would they enrol in the mandatory multi-year specialised training courses for engineers.

It is time to lose our fear of nuclear energy, ingrained by images associated with destruction and eternal contamination. Visiting and touring Almaraz, respecting its strict safety measures, is completed with a body measurement that barely shows the radioactivity contracted in a minimal session to take an X-ray.

The benefits are proven. And, although there is no such thing as zero risk, this plant has implemented a programme called Plan A-CERO (Zero Accidents). Since almost five hundred days ago, when a worker sprained his ankle going down some stairs, the plant has not recorded a single accident, leading it to boast that it has become an international benchmark in Occupational Risk Prevention in the nuclear sector.