Spain to decide on aging nuclear plant

2009-07-02 12:00:04 -

MADRID (AP) - The Spanish government will announce Thursday a keenly awaited decision on whether to shut down the country's oldest nuclear reactor, the prime minister said.
At stake is the Garona nuclear power plant in northern Spain, which came on line in 1971. It was designed to operate for 40 years, until 2001, and its operating license expires Sunday.
The country's nuclear regulatory agency recommended last month that it be allowed to operate for 10 more years, as long as it undergoes a safety upgrade.
But in the campaign leading up to his re-election to a second term last year, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pledged to phase out nuclear power in Spain as plants' operating licenses run out.
Spaniards have been waiting to see if he will keep his promise and reject the watchdog's recommendation, as well as pressure from industry to keep Garona running.
Spain has six plants with a total of eight reactors that provide 20 percent of the country's electricity. The Garona plant provides 1.4 percent.
Plant workers have been staging protests in recent days to press the government to keep Garona alive.
In comments over the past few weeks, Zapatero has hinted he will not heed the regulators' recommendation to keep the plant running.
In a radio interview Thursday, he declined to tip his hand, saying only that the decision will be «balanced, responsible and one that is in the country's interest.
Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian will first inform the utilities that own the plant, then unions representing workers, and then announce the decision publicly Thursday evening, Zapatero said.