Spain’s Energy Minister, Teresa Ribera, has announced the government’s decision to close all seven of Spain’s nuclear plants by 2035. The move comes as part of the government’s plan to generate all of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2050.
Currently, nuclear power accounts for just over 20% of Spain’s electricity, with 40% of the country’s energy already generated by renewable resources. The closure of the country’s nuclear plants will be supported by a greater investment in renewables, with at least 3,000 megawatts a year of renewable capacity such as wind farms and solar plants planned to cover the energy shortfall.
The decision to close Spain’s nuclear plants comes as the country’s ruling party, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, has already begun to transition Spain away from fossil fuels in a move which has been praised as ground-breaking and inspirational by EU and UN figures involved in the Paris Agreement.
CND welcomes the news of Spain’s shift away from nuclear power and calls on the UK government to make a similar pledge. Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous and expensive and the UK too must embrace a renewables-fuelled future.
- Join CND and call on the government to say no to nuclear power.
Original Image Credit: Jesus Martinez