After so much time debating and seeing what will be done with the Garoña nuclear power plant, we finally have the definitive answer from the Government. It has been decided not to renew the authorization that the Santa María de Garoña (Burgos) nuclear power plant needs to operate again.
The nuclear power plant had already been out of operation for five years, and after the Government's decision it will not be worked on again.
Garoña will not reopen its doors
This decision has finally been made due to the little impact that the definitive closure of the plant is supposed to have on the Spanish electricity system. The energy contribution of the nuclear power plant to Spain was only 400 megawatts. In addition, another reason why it has not been decided to reopen Garoña is because there is uncertainty, both political and economic, about the amortization of the investments necessary for the plant to work again. This is largely due to the opposition of most of the parliamentary groups that are against the reopening of Garoña.
The Ministerial Order by which the renewal of the authorization will be denied will be signed "immediately". It is recalled that the nuclear power plant is old and one of the first of its generation that hardly remains in Europe and whose contribution to the electrical system is almost nil. Its definitive closure does not have an impact on the price of electricity either.
The decision not to renew the authorization has been taken analyzing the context of clear political opposition and taking into account that the companies have wanted to use this issue as a “pressure element” to change the regulation. The bill proposed by the PSOE to close Garoña has also been analyzed, that had the support of all parliamentary groups, except the PP.
There are currently five active power plants in the country, totaling seven reactors, and another two, Vandellos I (Tarragona) and Jose Cabrera in Zorita (Guadalajara) are in the dismantling phase, which will be joined by Garoña.