Planning and development of the Spanish nuclear power programme

The paper analyses the Spanish nuclear power programme from its inception to the present time, doing so within the context of the country, characterized by the fairly rapid change from a basically agricultural economy to an economy in which industry and services play an important part and the transformation of which took place mainly during the decade prior to the energy crisis 1973. Reference is made to the early establishment of the Junta de Energia Nuclear (Nuclear Energy Board) (JEN), which was set up as a research body even before nuclear energy became competitive with other sources for the production of electric power and which, by adapting its structure and programmes to the different phases in the development and utilization of nuclear energy in the country, contributed the necessary scientific, technical and legal infrastructure. There is also an analysis of the most striking features of the Spanish energy system and an account of the planning and construction of the first three Spanish nuclear power stations. A further subject of discussion is the energy planning and development projects devised by the Government which gave rise to the second generation of nuclear power plants, some of which are already in operation and the remainder in an advanced state of construction. Emphasis is placed on the action taken by the Spanish Government to increase the participation of Spanish industry in the construction of nuclear power plants and in the supply of equipment and services required for their operation. Reference is made to the experimental changes which have been made in the institutional infrastructure in order to adapt it to the phase of development which has been reached and to the objectives subsequently laid down in the planning: establishment of ENUSA (the national uranium enterprise), the Equipos Nucleares corporation and the Nuclear Safety Council, and also the changes made in the JEN