Country profile: Spain

Summary figures for 2011

The following information is from the NEA publication Nuclear Energy Data, the annual compilation of official statistics and country reports on nuclear energy in OECD member countries.

Country	Number of nuclear power plants connected to the grid	Nuclear electricity generation (net TWh) 2011		Nuclear percentage of total electricity supply
Spain	8	54.9	*	19.5
OECD Europe	135	858.4		24.7
Total	329	2049.5		20.7

* Provisional data

Country report

Spanish policy

The new government resulting from elections of November 2011 considers that Spain requires a balanced electricity mix that takes into account all energy sources and the available capacities. Having in mind that nuclear energy contributes both to the diversification of domestic energy supply sources and to the reduction of greenhouse emissions, nuclear assets, which nowadays imply a relevant generation capacity for the country, could not be disregarded whenever they comply with the conditions on nuclear safety and radiological protection imposed by the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN).

Nuclear generation

In 2011, nuclear energy provided 19.5% of Spanish total net electricity production, with a decrease of 6.9% in the nuclear energy generated compared to the previous year due to the fact that seven of the eight nuclear reactors had refuelling outages. The average load factor of the Spanish nuclear park was 83.8%. Licence renewals for units Ascó 1 and 2 NPPs and Cofrentes NPP were granted by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade for another ten years (until 2021), after a favourable report by the CSN.

Front-end of the fuel cycle

In 2011, the Juzbado nuclear fuel fabrication facility manufactured 1 029 fuel assemblies containing 348.4 tU. Of the total production, 721 fuel assemblies containing 254.4 tU were exported to Belgium, Finland, France and Sweden, representing 70% of the total production. Acquisitions of uranium concentrates from the Russian Federation (33.1%), Namibia (30.7%), Niger (13.6%) and the HEU agreement (22.6%) provided feed for the fuel.

Back-end of the fuel cycle

As regards the centralised interim storage facility (CISF) for spent fuel and high-level waste, the Spanish government selected on 30 December 2011 the municipality of Villar de Cañas (Cuenca) to host the facility. Villar de Cañas was among the 14 municipalities that had presented their candidature, following a resolution by which a public call for this selection was launched, in late 2009.

The CISF project will include a storage facility able to accept 6 700 tU of spent fuel, as well as all other radioactive waste which are not suitable for disposal at the low- and intermediate-level waste disposal facility El Cabril. In addition, a technology centre is to be built in order to develop R&D activities for spent fuel and high-level waste management.

Once the decision is taken, the next step will be the licensing of the facility which, according to the Regulation on Nuclear and Radioactive Facilities, starts with the preliminary site assessment and construction authorisation.

Individual interim storage facilities (IISF) are in operation at the Trillo and José Cabrera NPPs. The Trillo facility has 21 containers (with 441 fuel bundles), and José Cabrera's has 12, since all spent fuel (100 tU in 377 fuel bundles) was removed from the pond to the IISF. Regarding other actions at NPPs, ENRESA is putting in place an IISF for Ascó I NPP, where the NPP operator is expected to be the licensee. The storage system includes a concrete-metallic container which is already licensed. The operator is expected to present the operating licence application in the very near future.

Low- and intermediate-level waste generated at radioactive and nuclear facilities is managed at the El Cabril facility, where the inventory of radioactive waste as of 31 December 2011 reached 28 165 m³ disposal in concrete containers.

As regards very low-level waste, the El Cabril facility has a specific area for very low-level waste disposal, consisting of a cell with a disposal capacity of some 30 000 m³. As of 31 December 2011, 3 852 m³ have been disposed in this facility. The aim in the future is to construct a further three cells until the authorised capacity of 130 000 m³ is attained.

Legal framework

During 2011, some legal developments were approved, in particular:

Law 12/2011 of 27 May, on third party liability for nuclear damage or damage caused by radioactive materials. The law incorporates into Spanish internal law the provisions contained in the 2004 Paris and Brussels Protocols amending the respective Paris and Brussels Conventions on Nuclear Third Party Liability.
This law limits licence holder's liability to EUR 1 200 million for all damages inside the national territory or other parties of the Brussels Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability. Regarding damages caused to other states that are parties only of the Paris Convention or to non-nuclear states, the licence holder responsibility is limited to EUR 700 million. Concerning the rest of the states, the liability of the licence holder will be, according to the reciprocity principle, the same that the other state contemplates for Spain. It also includes a specific regulation for the damages caused by accidents involving radioactive materials inside the national territory. The law will come into force on the date that the protocols do.
Royal Decree 1308/2011 of 26 September, on physical protection of nuclear facilities and materials, and of radioactive sources. The new royal decree incorporates into Spanish legislation the commitments accepted by Spain on physical protection matters, particularly the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (approved in July 2005). It repeals the former Royal Decree 158/1995 of 3 February, on the physical protection of nuclear materials.

Source: Nuclear Energy Data 2012

Web links

Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, CIEMAT
Astroparticle and High Energy Physics Group (AHEP)
Foro Nuclear (Spanish Nuclear Forum)
Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (Nuclear Safety Council)
Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A. (ENRESA)

Last reviewed: 7 October 2012