The late 1950s and early 1960s saw a strong push from the

Spanish Government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

to establish a national

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

industry. In response to the surge in nuclear power plant plans, a strong

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

emerged in 1973, which ultimately impeded the realisation of most of the projects.Lutz Mez,

Mycle Schneider Mycle Schneider (pronounced ''Michael'', /ˈmaɪkəl/) (born 1959 in Cologne) is a Paris-based nuclear energy consultant and anti-nuclear activist. He is the lead author of '' The World Nuclear Industry Status Reports''. He has advised members o ...

and Steve Thomas (Eds.) (2009). ''International Perspectives of Energy Policy and the Role of Nuclear Power'', Multi-Science Publishing Co. Ltd, p. 371. Conflict concerning the Lemóniz Nuclear Power Plant in the Basque province of Vizcaya was one of the major anti-nuclear issues in the 1970s and 1980s. Influenced by the terrorist group

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

, who killed some workers, including the industrial engineer José María Ryan, the socialist government approved a moratorium in late March 1984, and ultimately only ten of the 37 originally planned commercial

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

s were built in Spain. Since the liberalisation of the

electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had un ...

, no new nuclear power plant has been planned in Spain. The unresolved question of long-term disposal of

high-level radioactive waste High-level waste (HLW) is a type of nuclear waste created by the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. It exists in two main forms: * First and second cycle raffinate and other waste streams created by nuclear reprocessing. * Waste formed by vit ...

has been a contentious issue. Compared to other

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

countries, Spanish citizens generally show more negative attitudes towards the use of nuclear power. As of 2017 Spain has extended the life of the

Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station at Almaraz in Spain and uses the Tagus River, that runs into Portugal, for cooling. It consists of two PWRs of 1011 and 1006 MWe. The Arrocampo reservoir as system to refrigerate the Nucle ...

and a nuclear storage facility will be built according to the Spanish secretary of State for the EU Jorge Toledo Albiñana, stating work will start regardless of Portugals complaints, and uranium bars that will remain radioactive for the next 300 years will be stored on site.

References

{{Portal bar, Society, Renewable energy, Environment Nuclear power in Spain

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Politics of Spain Protests in Spain

See also

References