Garoña nuclear power plant decommissioning
CDA is participating with Spanish decommissioning and waste management firm Enresa of the Santa María de Garoña nuclear power plant from Nuclenor to undertake the first phase of its dismantling. A two-phase decommissioning strategy lasting about ten years is planned for the plant.
In February 2014, the industry succeeded in lobbying for regulatory changes that made it possible for a reactor closed for reasons unrelated to safety or radiological protection to be granted a new operating licence within 12 months of its shutdown.
Nuclenor submitted a licence renewal application for Garoña to the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda in May 2014, requesting a licence for Garoña to operate until 2031. The ministry subsequently forwarded this to CSN for evaluation.
In February 2017, CSN gave conditional approval for the restart and continued operation of Garoña, but said Nuclenor would be required to make a number of safety upgrades. However, in August of that year, the energy minister announced that the government had decided not to approve the renewal of Garoña’s operating licence.
“Dismantling the nuclear facilities that have ceased their activity is part of the essential public service that Enresa provides to Spanish society,” Navarro said, assuring that it will be done with “professionalism, rigor, security and transparency”.
