The Spanish government is closing in on a policy that would phase out nuclear power by not granting license extensions beyond the original 40-year commitment, as the country focuses on a strict diet of renewable power sources.
The announcement was made by State Secretary of Energy Jose Dominquez, media sources said.
Dominquez called the new draft law a “social decision.”
The new policy would aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050, while phasing out nuclear power, which generated 20 percent of the country’s electricity in 2016, compared with 23 percent for renewable power sources.
The oldest nuclear power plant in the country, Almaraz Unit 1, has been operating for 37. It is very likely the first nuclear plant the country will close down to comply with the new policy, even though the draft law does not specifically mention nuclear power.
The draft law does mention fossil fuels. There are 14 coal-fired power plants in Spain and nine of those will be closed by June 2020, the remaining five to be shuttered by 2030. Spain will also not issue permits for any new fossil power plants, ban hydro-fracking and stop issuing permits for oil and gas exploration, according to various sources.