The first five used fuel containers in placed at the Garoña ATI in March 2024
The council’s Plenary Session approved Enresa’s application, which included a design modification to increase the capacity of the Individualised Temporary Storage Facility and updates to the Safety Study and Technical Operating Specifications. Additionally, the session approved revisions to the plant’s radioactive waste and used fuel management plan, aligning with Phase 1 of the decommissioning process.
The storage facility, completed in 2017, consists of two reinforced concrete slabs designed for the temporary dry storage of dual-purpose metal containers. These containers facilitate the loading and eventual transport of used fuel to a proposed centralized storage facility. The transfer of used fuel to the on-site facility began in July 2022, with completion expected by 2027.
The 446-megawatt boiling water reactor at Garoña started operations in 1971 and was considered viable for continued operation until 2019 with specific upgrades. However, the plant’s operator, Nuclenor—a joint venture of Endesa and Iberdrola—did not renew its operating license in time, leading to the plant’s closure in December 2012, ahead of the license expiration in July 2013.
Enresa took ownership of the Garoña plant in July 2023 after submitting an application in May 2020 to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for the transfer and initial dismantling phase. The decommissioning, estimated to take about 10 years, follows an immediate dismantling strategy divided into two phases.
In Phase 1, Enresa is transferring used fuel from the storage pool to the on-site interim storage facility and dismantling the turbine building to prepare for the next phase. Phase 2 will focus on dismantling the reactor and other radiologically significant buildings, followed by decontamination, declassification, demolition, and environmental restoration of the site.
The expansion of the storage facility supports the safe management of used fuel during decommissioning, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and facilitating the long-term environmental restoration of the Garoña site.
