- Both Almaraz reactors can now operate until 8 June 2030, replacing closure dates in 2027 and 2028.
- Spain retains its formal commitment to close its entire nuclear fleet by 2035.
- The government expects the extension to reduce gas-fired generation by 7% while trimming planned renewable deployment by 1.4%.
Spain has extended the operating life of its Almaraz nuclear power station until June 2030, delaying the first closures under the country’s nuclear phase-out plan as energy security and fossil fuel volatility take precedence over the original timetable.
An order published in Spain’s Official State Gazette grants a renewed operating licence for both Almaraz units until 8 June 2030. Unit I had been due to close in November 2027, followed by Unit II in October 2028. The ministerial order revokes those earlier licence limits and replaces them with a common date.
The government said the decision did not alter Spain’s commitment to close its seven operating reactors by 2035. However, Almaraz was meant to begin that process and its extension compresses the remaining decommissioning schedule.
The decision follows an application submitted in October 2025 by plant operator Centrales Nucleares Almaraz-Trillo, which is owned by Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy.
Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council issued a favourable report in July after assessing 29 technical documents produced by 16 specialist areas. It concluded that the station had maintained an adequate level of safety and could manage its spent fuel until 2030, subject to conditions covering staffing, storage and continued regulatory oversight. The CSN assessment also examined ageing management, fire protection and the environmental qualification of equipment.
The two Westinghouse pressurised water reactors have net capacities of 1,011MW and 1,006MW. Together, they provide more than 7% of Spain’s electricity, equivalent to the consumption of around four million homes, and support approximately 4,000 jobs.
Spain’s government attributed the extension to uncertainty in international energy markets arising from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. It said the temporary measure could moderate consumers’ exposure to unforeseen fossil fuel price increases while additional renewables and storage are deployed.
The accompanying analysis estimates that keeping Almaraz open would reduce gas-fired electricity generation by 7% compared with the existing plan. Renewable deployment would be around 1.4% lower, reflecting the additional output retained on the system.
Madrid has not granted the plant’s owners the tax reductions that the nuclear industry has sought. The government said the extension would impose no additional cost on taxpayers or consumers.
Although the official decision did not cite the April 2025 Iberian blackout, the event revived Spain’s argument over the role of nuclear power in a renewables-heavy system. Investigations attributed the blackout to voltage problems rather than the nuclear closure policy, but it intensified scrutiny of the amount of firm, synchronous generation available to support the grid.
The government has ruled out further extensions for the moment. That position may prove difficult to maintain. Ascó I and Cofrentes are still scheduled to close in 2030, followed by Ascó II in 2032 and Vandellós II and Trillo in 2035. Maintaining the overall deadline would require Spain to begin dismantling several major reactors within a short period while replacing their energy, capacity and system services.
The Almaraz decision therefore looks less like an isolated adjustment than a test of how flexible the wider timetable can become. The plant had already been assessed as technically capable of operating until June 2030 when its licence was renewed in 2020. Its earlier closure dates reflected political agreement rather than a safety constraint.
For the UK, the lesson concerns the option value of existing nuclear assets. Lifetime extensions generally require investment and regulatory approval, but they can preserve large volumes of firm low-carbon generation while new reactors, renewables, storage and networks are built.
Spain still describes 2030 as a hard stop for Almaraz. The more important signal is that closure schedules become negotiable when security of supply, electricity prices and grid resilience begin to exert pressure simultaneously.
