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Nuclear Power in Spain

(August 2008)

• Spain has 8 nuclear reactors generating a fifth of its electricity.
• Its first commercial nuclear power reactor began operating in 1968.
• Government commitment to the future of nuclear energy in Spain is uncertain.

Electricity consumption in Spain has been increasing steadily and in 2006 grew 2.5%. Per capita it is about 5600 kWh/yr.

Power production in 2006 was 303 billion kWh, 20% of this from nuclear power, 22% from coal and 30% from gas.  Spain is essentially an island separate from the EU grid - about 2% of power is imported from France and a similar amount exported to Portugal.  Nuclear supplied 52.7 billion kWh (17.4%) in 2007 - the lowest level for some years.

Total generating capacity was 75 GWe in 2005, 7.6 GWe of this nuclear. Wind capacity at the end of 2006 reached 11.6 GWe. In 1997 the electricity market was liberalised.

Government policy and industry development

In 1964 construction started on the first of three nuclear power reactors - Jose Cabrera, Zorita, a small pressurised water reactor. Two years later construction of Santa Maria de Garona, a medium-sized boiling water reactor was started, followed two years later by Vandellos-1, a medium-sized gas-cooled reactor similar to UK's Magnox units. This is the only one to have so far closed down. This first generation of Spanish units - all turnkey projects - gave practical experience with three different designs, and led to a focus largely on PWR types in the 1970s.

In 1972 ENUSA (Empresa Nacional del Uranio, SA, now now ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas SA), a state-owned company, was set up to take over all of the nuclear front-end activities.

In the early 1970s construction was started on a second generation of seven reactors, five of which were completed. These involved local engineering companies Empresarios Agrupados and INITEC and the state-owned manufacturer ENSA (Equipos Nucleares SA).

In the early 1980s, construction of a third generation of five plants was started, but following a 1983 moratorium, only two were completed - Trillo-1 and Vandellos-2. In 1994 the moratorium was confirmed and five units under construction were abandoned.

Nuclear plant ownership and operation is mostly by the Spanish-based but now international utility Endesa SA (originally Empresa Nacional de Electricidad S.A) and Iberdrola.  The two companies have a joint venture operating company: Asociacion Nuclear Asco-Vandellos (ANAV) which covers the 40% of the country's nuclear capacity, in Catalonia.  Another joint operating company is Centrales Nucleares Almaraz-Trillo (CNAT), covering the central and west 39% of capacity.  Nucleares del Norte (Nuclenor) owns and operates the Santa Maria de Garona plant in the northern province of Burgos.  It thus pioneered nuclear generation in Spain.

Spain is notable for power plant uprates. It has a program to add 810 MWe (11%) to its nuclear capacity through upgrading its nine reactors by up to 13%. For instance, the Almarez nuclear plant is being boosted by more than 5% at a cost of US$ 50 million. Some 519 MWe of the overall increase is already in place.

Cofrentes was uprated 2% in 1988, another 2.2% in 1998, 5.6% in 2002 and 1.9% in 2003, taking it to 112% of original capacity. Tentative plans will take it to 120% later in the decade.

Power reactors operating in Spain

The Program of Advanced Nuclear Plants is working on the development of Westinghouse AP 600 and GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. Spain is also participating in the development of European Utility Requirements (EUR) in relation to advanced nuclear technology and is part of the International Atomic Energy Agency's INPRO project.

Fuel cycle facilities

Operation of the Saelices el Chico (Salamanca) uranium mine ended in 2000, though minor output continued to 2002 from decommissioning.  A number of other mines are also being decommissioned.  Mina Fe appears to have been the largest of these.  It was mined by ENUSA from 1974 to 1990 and produced over 4000 tU.  The 1600 tonnes used in Spain each year is imported.  ENUSA has a 10% stake in mining in Niger.
Australian-based Berkeley Resources owns uranium properties in Salamanca province with JORC-compliant resources of 6500 tonnes of uranium and is investigating using the Quercus mill (Saelices el Chico ) which was operational to 2003 to process production.  It has farm-in arrangements with local company Rio Alagon.  Canada-based Mawson Resources is also active in exploration in Salamanca.

There are no conversion or enrichment facilities in Spain, but ENUSA owns 11% of Eurodif, with a large diffusion enrichment plant at Marcoule in France. It also contracts for other conversion and enrichment services abroad.

ENUSA's Juzbado plant, commissioned in 1985, produces BWR and PWR fuel elements for Spain's reactors and also supplies other customers in Europe.

Radioactive Waste Management

ENRESA (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos SA) was established in 1984 as a state-owned company to take over radioactive waste management and decommissioning of nuclear plants. It is now the only state-owned part of the nuclear fuel cycle in Spain.

It drew up a General Plan for radioactive wastes which was approved by parliament in 1999. Its is based on nuclear power plant lives of 40 years, and addresses the need to manage almost 200,000 cubic metres of low and intermediate-level wastes and 10,000 cubic metres of spent fuel and other high-level wastes.

Since 1983 Spain's policy has been for an open fuel cycle, with no reprocessing. The plan for spent fuel envisages initial storage at each reactor for ten years. Some temporary storage for dry casks is also envisaged at Trillo up to 2010 and establishment of a longer-term centralised facility from then. Meanwhile research will progress on deep geological disposal as well as transmutation, with a decision on disposal to be made after 2010. Granite, clay and salt formations are under consideration.

In May 2006 Parliament approved plans for ENRESA to develop a temporary central nuclear waste storage facility costing over EUR 600 million by 2010.  A site is to be identified in 2007.

Waste management and decommissioning is funded by a levy of about 1% on all electricity consumed.

ENRESA has a medium and low-level radioactive waste storage facility at El Cabril, Cordoba.

Decommissioning

Vandellos-1, a 480 MWe gas-graphite reactor, was closed down in mid 1990 after 18 years operation, due to a turbine fire which made the plant uneconomic to repair. In 2003 ENRESA concluded phase 2 of the reactor decommissioning and dismantling project, which allows much of the site to be released. After 30 years Safestor, when activity levels have diminished by 95%, the remainder of the plant will be removed.

The cost of the 63-month project was EUR 93 million.

In April 2006 the 142 MWe Jose Cabrera (Zorita) plant was closed after 38 years operation. Dismantling the plant will be undertaken from 2009 by Enresa - total cost is estimated at EUR 135 million.

Regulation and safety

In 1980 the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN - nuclear safety council) was set up to take over both nuclear safety and radiological protection matters. The CSN was overhauled in 2007, following an incident in 2004 at Vandellos-2, and the scope for penalties increased.

In 2008 the CSN recommended that Endesa be fined about EUR 90 million over a radiation release incident at Asco-1 in 2007.

Licensing is under a 1964 law (amended) and 1999 regulations by the Economic Ministry, advised by CSN and Ministry of Environment.

Civil liability for nuclear damage is covered under international conventions to which Spain is party - the IAEA Vienna Convention and the OECD Paris and Brussels Conventions. Operators need to cover EUR 150 million.

Non-proliferation

Spain is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapons state. Its safeguards agreement under the NPT came into force in 1967 and in 1985 it came under the Euratom safeguards arrangement. In 1998 it signed the Additional Protocol in relation to its safeguards agreements with both IAEA and Euratom.

Main References:
IAEA 2002, Country Nuclear Power Profiles.

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