The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge officially confirmed this Friday the renewal of the operating license for the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant. In this way, both Unit I and Unit II have received the green light to continue their activity until June 8, 2030. The schedule had set the shutdown in 2027 and 2028 respectively,
The concession comes after the application submitted by the entity Centrales Nucleares Almaraz-Trillo in October 2025. The Nuclear Safety Council issued a favorable report on July 16, 2026, after evaluating the technical documentation and conducting continuous monitoring of nuclear safety and radiological protection of the facility. The authorization is conditioned on strict compliance with safety limits and conditions, as well as the implementation of an Improvement Plan derived from periodic safety reviews.
The Government justifies this extension based on several strategic pillars. The first of these is international instability: the crisis in the Middle East has generated great volatility in fuel prices. Thus, it considers that keeping Almaraz operational helps moderate the exposure of the Spanish electrical system to these fluctuations in international prices.
The next aspect highlighted in the text published today in the BOE is the limited impact on renewables. According to sensitivity analyses, the continuation of the plant will have a “little significant” effect on the country’s renewable generation targets, estimating a reduction of barely 1.4% in 2030, while it will reduce generation from combined cycle gas plants by 7%. Thus, and as a third strategic pillar, the Ministry emphasizes the guarantee of supply. The system operator has indicated that this extension provides stability to the electrical system in a context of global uncertainty.
The third strategic reason is the guarantee of supply. The system operator has indicated that this extension provides stability to the electrical system in a context of global uncertainty. The text also highlights the social importance of this measure. It is expected that this extension will facilitate the involvement of the owning companies in industrial and employment alternatives for the Extremadura region, advancing social dialogue to ensure a “just transition” in the face of the eventual definitive closure of the Spanish nuclear park, which remains set for the year 2035.
Keeping Almaraz operational helps to moderate the exposure of the Spanish electrical system to these fluctuations in international prices.
Regarding waste management, Enresa has confirmed that the increase in waste resulting from these additional months of operation is “little significant” and will not require expanding current storage facilities.
REACTIONS
The president of the Junta of Extremadura, María Guardiola, stated after learning of the decision on her X account that “Almaraz will remain open until 2030. And with it, an essential part of our land will continue to beat. A decision that provides certainty to a region, protects thousands of jobs, and maintains in Extremadura an activity that for decades has been fundamental to the lives of so many towns and families who depend on it.” Additionally, she added that “today justice is done with a plant that is an inseparable part of the history and development of Extremadura. I want to thank all of Extremadura’s society, which has fought united and raised its voice with dignity to make it possible that Almaraz does not close.”
For its part, the platform ‘Yes to Almaraz, Yes to the future’ has welcomed the Government’s decision to extend the activity of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant until June 2030, a measure that, in its opinion, returns peace of mind to an entire region that had been living with uncertainty about its future for months. “We finally breathe a sigh of relief and see the light at the end of the tunnel,” says Fernando Sánchez, president of the platform and mayor of Belvís de Monroy, who considers that the decision “restores confidence to thousands of families who for months have lived awaiting a resolution that conditioned the future of an entire region.”
The platform recalls that the Government’s decision comes after the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) issued a favorable report on the continuation of the plant’s operation in which it confirmed that it meets all conditions in terms of nuclear safety.
In this regard, it considers that the extension until 2030 marks the end of an era, but also the beginning of a new phase in which it will continue defending the need for the future of the Plant to be determined based exclusively on technical, safety, and general interest criteria. “Almaraz is ready to continue operating for many more years. Its twin plant North Anna, in the United States, has already been authorized to operate up to 80 years and that decision speaks for itself,” concludes Fernando Sánchez. “We will continue working so that the future of the Plant continues to be addressed from technical rigor, safety, and the interest of present and future generations.”
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