• • The Spanish Regulator (CSN) informed the Department about its favorable decision to extend the site’s operational life due to its solid performance and safety standards.
  • Cofrentes nuclear power plant was the main power source in the Valencia Region in 2020, accounting for 46.5 % of the total, according to REE (Spain’s grid operator).
  • The plant ensures reliable and carbon-free power supply, thus contributing to the fight against climate change.

The Department of Energy Transition and Demographic Challenge granted Cofrentes nuclear power plant the renewal of its operating permit until November 2030. This decision was made after favorable assessment of the Spanish Regulator (CSN), which performed an ongoing monitoring and supervision of plant operating conditions and compliance with applicable regulations in the areas of nuclear safety and radiation protection. This renewal complies with the provisions of the National Integrated Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC).

Performance according to the best international safety standards

Ever since it began commercial operation in 1984, Cofrentes NPP has operated under high safety and reliability standards, making a significant contribution to Spain’s electrical grid supply stability and guarantee. Site results over the last decade confirm a trajectory of continuous improvement, which is the result of upgrade and investment projects and efforts by our team of professionals:

• Nuclear safety results are optimal. According to data published by the Spanish Regulator (CSN), the station has been since 2011 in the “Licensee Response” column, best safety position within the Spanish equivalent of the Reactor Oversight Process (SISC).
• One of the most reliable stations in the international arena: The specialized publication Nuclear Engineering International, June 2020 issue, published a ranked list of all nuclear power plants worldwide according to the historical load factor. In that list, Cofrentes NPP ranks 31 out of 440 reactors, meaning the station is one of the best in the world in terms of performance, safety and reliability.
• It has operated over 11 years without a scram, a milestone achieved only by 40 reactors of the 450 currently in operation, according to WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators) indicators.

Steady, reliable and emission-free production

Cofrentes’ power generation has continuously accounted for 3 % to 4 % of Spain’s electrical demand. As for the plant’s contribution to the Valencia Region, Cofrentes NPP represented 46.5 % of all electrical generation in 2020, according to data of REE, Spain’s grid operator.

Electricity generated by Cofrentes NPP is carbon-free, meaning the station prevents the release of five tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere yearly, being a key contributor to the fight against climate change.

Cofrentes’ accumulated power generation amounts to 292,000 gigawatt hour (GWh), that’s enough energy to supply all Spanish households for four and half year.

Ongoing investment: economic & social driver

Throughout its history, Cofrentes NPP has allocated significant sums of money to continuously upgrade the site and technologically optimize equipment, all with the aim to ensure safe, reliable and sustained performance.

Over the last decade, more than €450 million were invested to this end, favoring station readiness to ensure safe operation over the next few years.

These investment programs are an important economic and social driver for the Valencia Region, especially for development of inland areas within Valencia, in the area between Requena and Almansa (Ayora Valley).

The site has undertaken a large upgrade and digitalization initiative to optimize multiple processes, equipment and components through technological solutions currently available on the marketplace.

Over the last ten years, the station completed key projects, including some relating to the post-Fukushima action plan, which have increased the site’s response capacity to extreme beyond-design-basis events.

Some of these improvements are the commissioning of the Alternative Emergency Management Center; installation of a filtered ventilation system in the containment building and new passive hydrogen recombiners; construction of a new seismically qualified fire protection system; as well as construction of a safe storage area for portable emergency equipment, amongst other.

The renewal of Cofrentes NPP’s operating license is associated to an investment program which shall facilitate further development of the station’s upgrade and update process. The program aims to maintain the station’s high safety and reliability standards over the next ten years of operation

• • El grupo, que presta un servicio esencial para la población, refuerza el normal funcionamiento de sus instalaciones y actividades críticas y estratégicas con una batería de 65 medidas concretas
  • El presidente del grupo, Ignacio Galán, ha informado a la plantilla de las medidas adoptadas y ha apelado al gran sentido de la responsabilidad demostrado siempre por los trabajadores de Iberdrola para evitar que el servicio se vea afectado

Madrid. Iberdrola, primera empresa energética de España, ha puesto en marcha su plan de acción global contra el coronavirus, COVID-19, de acuerdo con las recomendaciones de las autoridades sanitarias competentes.

En este contexto, la compañía ha puesto en marcha 65 medidas que contribuirán a garantizar la operativa de su negocio, atendiendo al cumplimiento de sus compromisos con los grupos de interés (clientes, suministradores, accionistas y sociedad en general) mientras protege la salud y seguridad de sus trabajadores y facilita la conciliación de su vida personal y laboral.

Iberdrola, como empresa que presta un servicio esencial para la sociedad, ha implementado una batería de medidas en todos sus centros de trabajo (oficinas, instalaciones de transformación, centrales de generación y centros de atención al cliente), reforzadas y específicas que permiten asegurar el funcionamiento habitual y la continuidad de sus actividades.

La compañía ha habilitado sistemas de teletrabajo para sus empleados de centros corporativos en zonas afectadas, como España e Italia. Al mismo tiempo, han quedado prohibidos los viajes nacionales e internacionales, salvo situaciones especiales, y las reuniones y cursos de formación, salvo los referentes a la seguridad, reforzándose las opciones telemáticas y online.

Asimismo, las medidas incluyen protocolos extraordinarios para colectivos críticos de los negocios, esquemas de movilidad eventual y reubicación temporal de trabajadores de instalaciones o funciones esenciales en la generación, distribución y suministro eléctrico a clientes finales.

El presidente de la Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A. (Enresa), José Luis Navarro, ha visitado recientemente la central nuclear de Cofrentes, junto a miembros de su equipo directivo, para conocer in situ los avances en las obras del Almacén Temporal Individualizado (ATI) que actualmente se está construyendo en esta Central, y del que Enresa es empresa impulsora de su desarrollo y financiación, en colaboración con Iberdrola como responsable de la obra civil y futura puesta en marcha del ATI.

Estos almacenes, con los que ya cuentan la mayoría de las centrales nucleares españolas, son una solución temporal, pero a la vez necesaria para dar respuesta a las limitaciones de capacidad de las piscinas de almacenamiento de combustible gastado de las instalaciones. Los ATI son construcciones sobradamente probadas construidas con diseño sísmico y en cotas no inundables, que en el caso de Cofrentes está constituido por dos losas de hormigón con capacidad para un total de 24 contenedores especialmente diseñados para albergar combustible gastado.

Enresa tiene la función de cumplir con un servicio público esencial: recoger, tratar, acondicionar y almacenar los residuos radiactivos que se generan en cualquier punto del Estado español y la gestión del desmantelamiento de las centrales nucleares.