Nuclenor, the operator of the Garoña nuclear power plant in Burgos (Spain), has requested a renewal of the operating license of the plant until 2031, which would extend the plant's lifetime to 60 years. The joint venture of Endesa and Iberdrola had until 6 July 2014 to call for the licence renewal, as permitted by the Royal Decree 102/2014 (21 February 2014), allowing recently shut-down nuclear power plants to apply for a renewal of their operating license. The request must be made within one year of the cessation order being received. Garoña nuclear power plant's licence expired on 6 July 2013. In September 2012, Iberdrola and Endesa, the owners of Nuclenor, decided not to submit an operating licence renewal application, awaiting regulatory clarifications. The plant was closed in mid-December 2012 to avoid paying a full year of retroactive tax charges as of 1 January 2013. The 446 MW BWR plant was commissioned in 1971 could safely operate until 2019 according to the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear, CSN).
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