The commitment made by Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to extend the lifespan of the country´s seven nuclear power plants is a political slogan and a tricky message” said Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera on Tuesday.
“It is not enough with a slogan it is not enough to say: ‘I extend’, at whose expense, who pays, the State, the consumers? Because at the end of the day that is the implicit message”, she stressed, EFE reported.
On Monday, Núñez Feijóo proposed, in case the PP wins the general election on 23 July, to reverse the planned dismantling of the seven Spanish nuclear power plants and “extend their lifespan”.
In Ribera’s view, the proposal is a political tactic marked by the upcoming election campaign, which begins in a week.
Who will foot the bill?
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) asked the PP leader who would pay the enormous price that would be involved in implementing his proposal.
“The question the PP is not answering is: Who will pay for it: the citizens or the State?” Because if you look at the energy sector in the long term, the cost of producing electricity by nuclear power is much more expensive than renewables. They will have to explain who will pay, ” Sánchez told Cadena SER in an interview aired Monday night.
The Socialist Prime Minister recalled that Minister Ribera agreed in 2019 with the companies that own the seven nuclear power plants “a schedule for closure until 2035” while regretting that Núñez Feijóo did not make “any proposal on energy linked to the ecological transition”.
The plan approved by the Socialist government in 2019 envisages the closure of the seven Spanish nuclear power plants in several stages, starting in 2027 until 2035, when there would be a “total nuclear shutdown” in Spain.
The closure plan is (with the name of the affected plant): Almaraz I (2027), Almaraz II (2028), Ascó I and Cofrentes (2030), Ascó II (2032), and Vandellós II and Trillo (2035).
‘Message with a trap’
Furthermore, Ribera, who is “number 2” on PSOE´s list for Madrid for the 23 July general election, added that the promise made by Núñez Feijóo is a “trick message”.
The minister recalled that it was the companies that manage the nuclear power plants themselves that “at the time reached an agreement to (set) a timetable for closure (until 2035)” and that the government is willing to invest in safety but not to extend “a few years” the lifespan of the nuclear plants.
“We are not prepared to invest large sums of money for something that has a limited lifespan, which, if it is exceeded in time, requires a much larger amount than we are prepared to maintain”, Ribera stated.
On the other hand, the minister assured that “what is most appropriate for this country, with affordable, stable, predictable (energy) prices for consumers, but also with returns for investors, are renewable (energy) solutions”.
“Spain is rich in renewable (energy) alternatives, and it is rich in human capital, in will, in companies and societies that know how to take advantage of the opportunities for innovation, employment and industry linked to renewables. We have become a very important focus of attraction for investment,” Ribera concluded.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)
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