International edition
Nuclear News Network

Reporting the buildout, from mine to megawatt

Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker

Santa María de Garoña

Active dismantling · Spain · Immediate dismantling

Garoña, a 446 MWe BWR from 1971, disconnected in December 2012 and never restarted. Ownership passed to state agency Enresa in July 2023, which is dismantling it in two phases (2023-2026 turbine building and fuel transfer; 2027-2033 radiological buildings) on a €475m budget excluding spent fuel.

New to decommissioning? The nuclear decommissioning market in 2026: size, players, pipeline

Current state

StatusActive dismantling
CountrySpain
LocationValle de Tobalina, Burgos
SiteSanta María de Garoña
UnitsUnit 1
Unit count1
Reactor typesBWR
Net capacity (MWe)446
Owner / licenseeEnresa
Decommissioning contractorEnresa
StrategyImmediate dismantling
Final shutdown2012-12
Decommissioning start2023-07
Target completion2033
Cost estimateEUR 475m (as of 2023-07)
Spent fuelSpent fuel being moved from the pool to on-site dry storage during Phase 1.
Notable issuePhase 2 requires a separate authorisation.

Notes

Net capacity 446 MWe per WNA (466 MW installed per REM).

Timeline

  • 1971 — Garoña entered operation. (source)
  • 2012-12 — Nuclenor disconnected Garoña from the grid. (source)
  • 2023-05 — Spain's CSN issued a favourable report on the dismantling project. (source)
  • 2023-07-13 — The ministry authorised dismantling and transfer of ownership to Enresa. (source)

The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.

Related sites

See all 72 sites in the Nuclear Decommissioning Tracker →

Sources

  1. El Gobierno autoriza el desmantelamiento de la central nuclear de Garoña — Renewable Energy Magazine, checked 2026-10-11
  2. Orden TED/796/2023, de 13 de julio (Garoña dismantling authorisation) — Boletín Oficial del Estado (primary), checked 2026-10-11
  3. Nuclear Power in Spain — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11
  4. Enresa informa de los avances de la fase 1 del desmantelamiento de Garoña — Enresa (primary), checked 2026-10-11