Environmental organizations demand to maintain the closure of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant in 2027: "Pedro, keep your word"

A large banner displayed this Friday at the Arco de Moncloa has served as a new call to the President of the Government to maintain the closure schedule for the Almaraz nuclear power plant. Under the slogan "Pedro, keep your word. Say NO to nuclear," the organization seeks to remind Pedro Sánchez of his commitment to the nuclear closure schedule agreed upon in 2019, which places the Almaraz plant in Cáceres as the first facility to shut down, with its reactor I scheduled for November 2027.

The protest comes just after the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) gave its technical approval this Thursday to the extension request submitted by the plant's owner companies, Iberdrola, Endesa, and Naturgy, which are asking to extend its operation until June 2030. The regulator's report concludes that Almaraz maintains the necessary safety conditions to continue operating, although it introduces additional conditions, such as reinforcing the planning of specialized personnel between 2028 and 2030.

Along with Greenpeace, organizations such as Ecologistas en Acción, WWF, SEO/BirdLife, and Amigas de la Tierra have urged the Government to maintain the closure schedule agreed upon in 2019. In their opinion, modifying this roadmap would generate uncertainty about energy planning and compromise the planned development of renewable energies. "Nuclear is an obstacle to the ecological transition," said Javier Andaluz, head of Climate and Energy at Ecologistas en Acción, who asked the Executive "not to give in to the interests of the large companies of the energy oligopoly."

The organizations remind that the CSN's pronouncement is technical in nature and does not oblige the Executive to authorize the continued operation of the plant. Therefore, they consider that the decision adopted by the Government will set the course for energy policy in the coming years and reiterate that maintaining the closure schedule is, in their opinion, essential to avoid hindering the deployment of renewable energies.