Spain's Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant Resumes Operations

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The 1,085-megawatt (MW) Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant, owned and operated by Iberdrola Generacion S.A. (Madrid, Spain), resumed operations on October 16 after a maintenance and refueling outage.

The outage began on September 6 and the cost of the work was estimated to be $76 million. According to the plant's officials, the inspections and revisions were valued at $30 million, and the technological modernization and equipment and components installation were valued at $46 million.

Iberdrola hired more than 1,800 employees from 80 specialized companies to complete the works. One of the most important enhancements installed at the plant is the Mark-VI, a turbine control system which is being installed by GE Energy, a division of General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut), at the most modern power plants.

Cofrentes Nuclear Plant was first connected to the grid 25 years ago, and the license expires in 2034. The plant is located in Cofrentes, a town in the province of Valencia. The steam turbine and boiler water reactor (BWR-6) were manufactured by GE Energy and are fed by enriched uranium.

Spain has eight nuclear reactors, generating a fifth of the country's electricity. Spain's first commercial nuclear power reactor began operation in 1968. The government's commitment to the future of nuclear energy in Spain is uncertain. Currently, no licenses are being given to private investors for the construction of nuclear plants.

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