Nuclear fuel in Spain
In Spain, ENUSA, a public company founded in 1972, is in charge of all activities related to the first stage of the fuel cycle for Spanish nuclear power plants (supplying uranium concentrates, conversion, enrichment and manufacture of fuel elements). This company performs a unified management of enriched uranium provision, which allows for a better supply safety, a great flexibility towards changes, a greater capacity for negotiation with suppliers and saving management costs.
Through ENUSA, Spanish nuclear power plants might enjoy the greatest supply diversification of enrichment services in the world
Through ENUSA, Spanish nuclear power plants are clients of the world’s major concentrate producing companies. Concentrate originates in 60% from the two most important manufacturers, Russia and Namibia, in 21% from the ex Soviet Union countries, 15% from Niger and 4% from South Africa. This distribution makes it possible to handle concentrate in a diversified way and with an important assurance of supply, since it is normally done with companies that are very solvent in the international market.
ENUSA is also a direct and indirect client of the four most important suppliers for conversion to UF6. This covers the needs of Spanish reactors in the following distribution: approximately 25% from France and the United Kingdom, 25% from Russia and 50% from the United States and Canada. Through ENUSA, Spanish nuclear power plants might enjoy the greatest supply diversification of enrichment services in the world, since they are clients of the aforementioned four countries.
There must be enough uranium stock to manufacture fuel for two loads of a 1,000 MW reactor in the Spanish nuclear fleet
On the other hand, it must be indicated that Spanish legislation demands that the electricity companies that own our nuclear power plants keep a so-called uranium reserve stock. This implies that there must be enough uranium stock to manufacture fuel for two loads of a 1,000 MW reactor in the Spanish nuclear fleet.
In addition to this, electricity companies keep what is known as a voluntary strategic uranium stock, which, should there be a hypothetical interruption of international mineral supply, would allow for the operation of the entire nuclear Spanish fleet.
All these reasons endow Spain with enough capacity to ensure the supply of uranium mineral and of the necessary services for the manufacture of nuclear fuel, for the long-term operation of our nuclear fleet for 60, 80 or 100 years.
