Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN – Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear) has approved expansion of the on-site used fuel interim dry storage facility at the Santa María de Garoña NPP. The expansion is required to accommodate the fuel storage needs of the plant during its decommissioning.
The Garoña NPP, a 446 MWe boiling water reactor, which began operation in 1971, was Spain’s oldest nuclear plant. It ceased operation in 2012 when Nuclenor (a joint venture of Endesa and Iberdrola), objected to a new tax. Although it had a permit until 2019 and was formally closed down in 2017.
Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition & Demographic Challenge (Miteco – Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico) authorised the start of dismantling in July 2023. The order also authorised the transfer of ownership from Nuclenor to Radioactive waste management agency Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos (Enresa).
The CNS Plenary Session conditionally approved a design modification to expand the capacity of the Individualised Temporary Storage Facility (ATI – Almacén Temporal Individualizado) and associated revisions to the Safety Study and the Technical Operating Specifications for the facility.
The construction of the ATI dry and temporary storage facility was completed in 2017. The first used fuel was placed in the ATI in July 2022, with all used fuel expected to be transferred to it in 2027. The dismantling of Garoña will last until 2033 and is budgeted at €475m ($533m). The decommissioning comprises two phases.
In Phase 1 (2023-2026) the systems, structures and components of the turbine building will be dismantled, and the modifications to the systems and facilities necessary for the management of the resulting waste will be undertaken. At the same time, used fuel will be evacuated from the pool to ATI.
In Phase 2 (2027-2033), with the fuel already in the ATI, the final dismantling of the radiological buildings will be addressed, continuing with the decontamination, declassification and demolition, ending with restoration of the site.
Next year Enresa hopes to resume loading nuclear fuel in the ENUN 52B containers following ATI expansion. Enresa has already twice updated and modified the contract it signed in 2020 with the company Equipos Nucleares SA (Ensa) for the supply of the 44 containers. Provided they arrive, Enresa plans to load them by 2027. In the meantime, it is planned to check the used fuel elements to ensure they can be easily inserted into the racks of the UNUN 52B.
By 2028, once the fuel load is completed, the auxiliary ATI facility will be operational and able to accept the containers It will add almost 1,000 square metres of storage space.
