High Court hands power over nuclear plants to government

The nuclear power plant at Garoña had planned a celebration to mark its 40th anniversary in April but following the reactor meltdown at Fukushima it was put on hold. Garoña, the oldest of Spain's nuclear plants and the one with the smallest output, hosts exactly the same model of main reactor as Fukushima.

On Thursday the High Court delivered another blow to Garoña, which had been slated for closure this year but received a two-year stay from the Socialist government, which wishes to shut it down in spite of a positive report on its health by the Nuclear Security Council (CSN). The ruling essentially placed the future of Spain's plants in the hands of the government, which can close reactors as it sees fit despite the recommendations of the CSN.

In its report, the High Court stated that Garoña's potential closure in 2013 was based on "legitimate energy policy reasons." Power-generating companies Iberdrola and Endesa, which own 50 percent of Garoña, had argued the decision to close it was arbitrary and had been seeking a 20-year extension or compensation of 1.5 billion euros. The court ruling said that no nuclear proprietor had the "indefinite right to continue exploiting" their concession and ruled out any recompense for closures.

Only one nuclear plant has been closed in Spain. The Zorita generator was discontinued in 2006 with the agreement of the electricity companies after a negative report from the CSN.