Spain extends Almaraz nuclear plant to 2030, citing Iran war fossil fuel risks and splitting governing coalition

Government extends Almaraz until 2030

The Spanish government published an order in the official gazette (BOE) on Friday, 14 August 2026, extending operations at the Almaraz nuclear plant's two reactors until 8 June 2030. Almaraz I had been scheduled to shut down in November 2027 and Almaraz II in October 2028 under a phased closure calendar agreed in March 2019 between the government, plant owners Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy, and the public waste-management company Enresa. The Ministry for Ecological Transition, now led by Sara Aagesen, had until mid-September to respond to the owners' extension request filed in November 2025, but issued its decision in mid-August without explaining the timing. The Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) had previously issued a technical report endorsing the extension with no votes against.

The order cites the impact of the Iran war on fossil fuel prices and supply security as a primary motivation. Ministry sources told El Mundo that the decision does not represent a change of course, arguing it is limited in scope and meets three conditions: it is safe, does not compromise supply security, and carries no cost for citizens. The rest of the nuclear phase-out calendar, targeting full closure of Spain's fleet by 2035, remains officially unchanged. Under that calendar, Ascó I and Cofrentes are set to close in 2030, Ascó II in 2032, and Vandellós II and Trillo in 2035.

Coalition tensions and political fallout

Sumar, the junior coalition partner, reacted with unusual force, calling the extension an "error" and accusing the ministry of bowing to the "energy oligopoly." The PSOE-Sumar coalition agreement, signed on 24 October 2023 by Pedro Sánchez and Yolanda Díaz, explicitly promised a "planned, safe, orderly and socially just" nuclear closure between 2027 and 2035. Sumar's protest letter argued the plant had exhausted its useful life, that extension delays decarbonisation, raises electricity prices, and consolidates the oligopoly. Economist Juan Ramón Rallo countered each point in an ABC opinion piece, noting that "useful life" is an administrative license renewable by the state, that nuclear generation emits no CO2, and that the 15 terawatt-hours Almaraz produces annually would likely be replaced by natural gas if the plant closed.

Teresa Ribera, who as minister from June 2018 to 2024 drove the closure calendar and signed the 2019 protocol, had repeatedly insisted the plants had "no future or sense" and were not "economically viable." She has not commented on the Almaraz extension, though she now defends nuclear extension at European level from her Brussels post.

Solar photovoltaic22.2%

Wind20%

Nuclear18.3%

Solar photovoltaic

22.2 %

Wind

20 %

Nuclear

18.3 %

Data from the article text

Regional celebration and demands for more

In Extremadura, the decision was met with relief. The plant sits in a municipality of roughly 1,500 inhabitants, and local leaders say 4,000 families depend on it. Juan Antonio Díaz, the socialist mayor of Almaraz, spoke of "immense joy" and "the news we were waiting for." Fernando Sánchez, mayor of Belvís de Monroy and president of the citizen platform 'Sí a Almaraz, Sí al futuro,' described "a mix of emotions that I wouldn't know how to describe."

Regional president María Guardiola (PP) called it "a triumph for Extremaduran society that fought united." Vox's Óscar Fernández Calle, vice president of the regional government, urged extending the plant to 2050. The mobilisation began in January 2025 and drew in dozens of towns, institutions and businesses across the region.

Nuclear power supplied 18.3% of Spain's electricity in 2026 through the year to date, making it the third-largest source behind solar photovoltaic at 22.2% and wind at 20%. Over the past decade, nuclear's share ranged between 19% and 22.4%, and it was the leading source for several years.