07 November 2017

Ascó nuclear plant in the spotlight during ‘Herrera en COPE’ radio show

COPE's visit to the Ascó Nuclear Power Plant was an opportunity to explain how we have faced the challenge of decarbonising the energy mix in Endesa.

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Nuclear power is safe, does not emit CO₂ and is competitive. As said by Juan María Moreno, Endesa General Manager Nuclear, during the live show ‘Herrera en COPE’, presented by the journalist, Carlos Herrera, which saw the Ascó nuclear plant (Tarragona) serving as a radio studio for six hours.

COPE’s visit to the Ascó nuclear plant coincided with a very important moment: refuelling. This process requires the plant to be shut down for 34 days to replace the fuel inside its reactor and perform associated maintenance work.

The procedure guarantees that the nuclear plant remains safe and in perfect working order and requires a major outlay. Over the last six years, we have spent over 100 million euros just on the Ascó and Vandellós plants.

The radio show covered how Endesa is tackling the challenge of decarbonising the energy mix, and the need to lengthen the useful life of these plants, the safety measures needed in a nuclear power plant, and also the economic impact on the local community of the activities carried out at the plant.

“By 2050, emissions need to be some 95% lower than in 1990”, commented Juan María Moreno. “We are talking about an economy in which no greenhouse gases are emitted”, he added. Further, “according to several studies, the disappearance of nuclear power from Spain’s energy mix could hike up prices”.

During the show, José Antonio Gago, General Manager of the Ascó-Vandellós II Association and Chairman of the Spanish Nuclear Society, was keen to point out that the United States has been “the benchmark for our plants”, and highlighted that ongoing investments by operators and owners have ensured they are “perfectly safe”.

On the other hand, Gago added that thanks to this investment, “practically 90% of the plants in operation today could remain in service for 60 years ”: a figure well above their initially expected life of 40 years.

The six-hour show was packed with information, Offering over 1,800,000 listeners a better insight into how nuclear power works and why it is crucial to the decarbonisation process which the company is staunchly committed to.