According to the Elcano Royal Institute Barometer survey, 66% of respondents believe that Spanish nuclear power plants should continue to operate. This figure was 43% in 2023, so the data speaks for itself.
The question was: “There are several nuclear power plants in Spain. Do you think these plants should continue operating, or should they be shut down?” Two-thirds of those surveyed responded that they should continue operating, compared to 29% who favored closure and 5% who responded, ‘I don’t know’. Clearly, many things have changed since 2023: the debate has moved to the front pages of newspapers, resulting in an increase in information about the cost of electricity and concerns about security of supply, especially after the blackout on 28 April. While there may be many reasons for this shift in public opinion, it is clear that the majority now favor the continued operation of Spanish nuclear power plants.
As nuclear professionals working in this sector, we are delighted to see that more and more people are joining our cause. Individuals, institutions, and professional groups are calling for the closure schedule to be reconsidered and for us to abandon this path on which we have been left alone.
Countries in Europe and around the world are working hard on the slow and complex process of building nuclear power plants, and they look on with surprise and incomprehension as Spain, which already has such plants, stubbornly pursues the opposite course of closing them down.
The study also reveals a clear ideological divide: right-wing respondents are twice as likely as left-wing respondents (some of whom also favor continuing) to support nuclear energy. However, there is also a more centrist position that also leans towards the ‘yes’ vote. The Spanish Nuclear Society would therefore like to emphasize once again that energy should not be politicized or used as a weapon in parliamentary debates involving half-truths and lies. The decision on our country’s energy future, and therefore our collective future as citizens, should be based on technical criteria, with the aim of contributing to the fight against global warming, maintaining competitive prices (including for new projects) and ensuring security of supply. Taking all these considerations into account, nuclear energy has a lot to offer.
For us, the political decision remains nothing but a dream. We continue to wait and hope that this reflection and decision-making process will be based on technical criteria and adapted to the times in which we live. We will continue to work actively in the area of disseminating information and knowledge about nuclear power generation and technology. This will provide the 29% of people who still believe that our power plants should be shut down with a source of information and a point of reference to help them better understand these facilities and how they work, as well as our capacity to continue operating and producing electricity well beyond the definitive dates that have been set and which, unfortunately, are getting closer to becoming irreversible with each passing day.
There will come a time when, despite the fact that we and 66% of the population do not agree with or understand this decision, there will be no turning back and the power stations will be closed. Before we reach that point, however, we will tirelessly repeat and explain that this is a strategic error, and we will ask in every forum we can access, and to anyone who will listen, that this decision be reconsidered and that our power stations continue to operate.
