For the Trillo nuclear power plant, responsible for 3% of the energy in Spain, for its refueling.

The Trillo nuclear power plant, in Guadalajara, has started this Wednesday its 35th refueling after the disconnection of the electrical grid at 2.34 am, and has thus begun a shutdown in which more than 1,000 workers have joined the facility in addition to the usual workforce, from some 40 specialized collaborating companies.

Most of these professionals come from the area around the plant, as reported by the nuclear plant in a press release.

With a duration of 32 days and a half, during the annual refueling, the fuel assemblies will be renewed, the tests required by the Operating Specifications will be carried out and the installations, equipment and components necessary to ensure the correct operation of the plant in the next operating cycle will be revised or tested.

The program for this 35th refueling includes the execution of more than 4,000 activities, among which the plant has highlighted the revision of a main reactor cooling pump, the preventive replacement of the main transformer (AT03) and the revisions of a pilot valve train of the Main Steam system and of the low pressure turbine 3, among others.

The Trillo nuclear power plant supplies 12% of Spain's nuclear production and 3% of the annual electricity demand of the whole of Spain. During 2022 it recorded a gross electricity production of 8,224 GWh, which represents 4.5% of the carbon dioxide emission-free energy produced in Spain.

The plant faces a new production period and its owners (Iberdrola 49%, Naturgy 34.5%, Iberenergía 15.5% and Endesa 1%) have requested the renewal of the operating license, which expires on November 17, 2024 for another ten years.

Trillo's cycle time is 12 months. It is the most modern of the Spanish nuclear fleet with an installed capacity of 1,066 MWe.