Nuclear Power Plants - Spain

Spain has 9 operating nuclear plants with 7188 MWe total generator output. There have been 3 generations of nuclear power stations - first, Jose Cabrera (1968), Garona (1971), Vandellos I (1972) ; second - Almarez I-II, Asco I-II, Cofrentes, and Lemoniz (which was discontinued) ; third - Vandellos II, Trillo I, and Valdecaballeros I-II (currently mothballed).
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The Spanish utilities have used both PWR and BWR design plants. Current stations, for the most part, generate between 930 and 1066 MWe. Several older stations, still operating, have generator outputs of 160 Mwe and 460 MWe. The table below presents specifics on the plants with links to Spanish sites.
Site Manufacturer Type MWt Net MWe Design Specifics
Almaraz I-II Westinghouse 3 Loop PWR 2696 939/894 157 fuel assemblies of 17x17 design with 264  fuel rods per fuesl assembly; Unit 1 (1981); Unit 2 (1984); 18 month cycle
Asco I-II Westinghouse 3 Loop PWR 2695 933/943 157 fuel assemblies of 17x17 design with 264  fuel rods per fuesl assembly; Unit 1 (1984); Unit 2 (1986); 18 month cycle
Cofrentes General Electric BWR 2952 951 624 fuel assemblies of the 8x8 design with 62 fuel rods and 2 water rods; Startup 1985.
Jose Cabrera Westinghouse 1 Loop PWR 510 153 69 fuel assemblies of 14x14 design with 179 fuel rods. Startup 1968. The oldest of the current Westinghouse design still operating.
Santa Maria de Garona General Electric BWR 1381 438 Startup 1971.
Trillo I KWU/Siemens 3 Loop PWR 3010 1000 177 fuel assemblies of 16x16 design with 52 control rods. Startup 1988.
Vandellos II Westinghouse 3 Loop PWR 2775 961 157 fuel assemblies of 17x17 design with 264 actual fuel rods per fuesl assembly; Startup 1978.
Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) maintains a very informative site, in Spanish, providing information about all aspects of the fuel cycle, and licensees, that they regulate. A separate section leads to apges for each power plant.   In Spain, most of the nuclear power plants are owned by several utilities but operated by a single operating organization that reports to the owners. Each owner utility is issued a license by CSN. Spanish utilities that own nuclear plants are:
  • Compania Sevillana de Electricidad (Almaraz)
  • Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (Asco 1 & 2, Garona, Vandellos)
  • Fuerzas Electricas de Cataluna SA (Asco 1 & 2)
  • Hidroelectrica del Cantabrico (Trillo)
  • Iberdrola (Almaraz, Asco 2, Cofrentes, Garona, Trillo, Vandellos)
  • Union Electrica Fenosa (Almaraz, Jose Cabrera, Trillo)
UNESA is an organization that has many functions similar to the Nuclear Energy Instutute and Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. In Spain a single organization - Empresa Nacional del Uranio, S.A. (ENUSA) - is responsible for the core design and the purchase of uranium, manufacture of the fuel, and transportation of the fuel to the nuclear plants. A single organization - Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radioactivos, S.A. (ENRESA) - is responsible for the transportation and disposal of low and high level radioactive waste and for the decommissioning of each power plant after shutdown.
The image-sensitive map below (presented by Department of Nuclear Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Madrid) leads to information on each station.
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