Westinghouse Electric Company of the USA announced it has completed its acquisition of 50% of Spanish nuclear engineering firm Tecnatom by buying shares previously owned by Iberdrola and Naturgy.

Spanish engineering firm Tecnatom has been awarded a contract by Norway's Institute for Energy Technology for the development and supply of a simulator based on small modular reactors.

Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has rejected Berkeley Energia's authorisation to build a uranium processing plant at the company's Salamanca project in western Spain. The company has questioned the legality of the decision.

Spain's nuclear power generating industry will not be able to continue operating if a draft law approved on 14 September by the Council of Ministers is enacted, according to the country's nuclear industry forum Foronuclear. The law, together with other proposed measures, would impose an "excessive tax burden" on the industry, which Foronuclear says would make the continued operation of nuclear power plants economically unfeasible. Under Spain's nuclear phase-out policy, its nuclear fleet is scheduled to shut down by 2035.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has completed a review of the long-term operational safety of the Ascó nuclear power plant in Spain. The team reviewed implementation of recommendations made during a previous review mission and assessed the plant's preparedness, organisation and programmes related to long-term operation against IAEA safety standards.

Spain's Council of Ministers yesterday authorised decommissioning and waste management firm Enresa to launch a tender for a contract for the design, support with licensing, manufacture and supply of a used nuclear fuel storage system for use at the Almaraz, Ascó, Cofrentes and Vandellós II nuclear power plants. The contract will be worth up to EUR220 million (USD260 million).

In a review of Spain's energy policy, the International Energy Agency says the country should consider the usefulness of nuclear energy, including for non-electricity applications, for diversifying technical options to achieve long-term carbon neutrality by 2050. Under Spain's current policy, operation of its fleet of seven nuclear power reactors will be phased out by 2035. The country aims to generate all of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.

The Spanish nuclear regulator has approved the renewal of the operating licence for Iberdrola's Cofrentes nuclear power plant near Valencia until the end of November 2030. The 1064 MWe boiling water reactor, which entered commercial operation in March 1985, is then scheduled to be decommissioned.

A proposed amendment to Spain's draft climate change and energy transition bill that would prohibit the exploration and extraction of uranium is unconstitutional, says Berkeley Energia. The Australian-based company is at an advanced stage in licensing its Salamanca uranium mine.

The Municipality of Retortillo has issued Berkeley Energia a land use permit, known as an Urbanism Licence, for construction works at the Salamanca uranium project in western Spain. The project still requires a construction permit for the uranium processing plant before full construction of the mine can begin.

Spanish decommissioning firm Enresa has submitted an application to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for the transfer of ownership of the Garoña nuclear power plant and the first phase of its dismantling. The single-unit plant was shut down in mid-December 2012.

Russian nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Spanish engineering firms ENUSA, ENSA and IDOM on cooperation in the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities, as well as in nuclear waste management and related engineering and consulting services. They have also signed a roadmap for the development of various projects in the near term.