We have been talking for a long time about the closure schedule (which was agreed, it is true, but in a context that bears no resemblance to the current one) for nuclear power stations, about the need to shut them down, and so on. Perhaps the time has come to highlight the fact that behind this intention lies an exercise in destruction that has not been sufficiently thought through – or, perhaps, is in fact deliberate.
Closing, shutting down or decommissioning – however we choose to phrase it – effectively means destroying an operational resource, destroying a capacity for electricity generation that is currently proving to be effective and that continues to play a significant role in this country’s electricity production (around 20% of the total last year came from nuclear sources). It means destroying around 30,000 jobs, some of which are highly skilled and specialized. It will undoubtedly result in greatly weakening, if not destroying, the business ecosystem comprising all the service companies that have grown and developed around the operation of nuclear power stations. It will degrade (and the experience and reality of the area around the decommissioned José Cabrera plant confirm this) entire regions of that part of the country we talk so much about protecting, the so-called ‘depopulated Spain’.
To close down is synonymous with destroying, and doing so without a genuine, sound and, moreover, valid reason. The continued operation of nuclear power stations helps to keep prices in check, contributes to the stability of the Spanish electricity grid and, although some have recently been determined to steer the debate towards this false dichotomy, forms a perfect partnership with renewables to provide energy autonomy and security that is proving more necessary than ever.
The world is currently facing a period of uncertainty and complexity. Society deeply craves certainty. Nuclear energy is, as things stand, a clear certainty in Spain, with seven reactors in operation that supply a significant proportion of the energy to the grid every day, enabling us to live and grow. It can continue to be so. In fact, the industry has stated that it is ready for this, but political will and decision-making must move in the same direction.
Diversity is synonymous with security and prosperity. Closure is synonymous with destruction.
