Construction of the power station started in 1964. It was commissioned in 1968 to Zachry Construction Corporation, and it operated from 1968 until 2006. In 2006, it was closed by ministerial order.[2]
On 11 February 2010, Unión Fenosa transferred the site's ownership to Enresa, a Spanish company responsible for decommissioning the power station. Enresa planned to clear the site by the end of 2015.[2]
In 2010, Westinghouse won a contract to dismantle the reactor internals, and another contract in 2013 to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel. In November 2019, dismantling of the containment building began, and by June 2022 the turbine building was also dismantled. By September 2023, the containment building void was filled with 9,500 cubic metres (340,000 cu ft) of soil. A final phase of site clean-up and testing will be carried out before declaration of the end of decommissioning.[3]
2003 incident
The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council has investigated the plant's deficient safety system and a missing screw that prevented the reactor from resuming operations after a month-long refueling operation in December 2003.[citation needed]