Socio-economic impact of a nuclear power plant: Almaraz (Spain)

An analysis is made of the socio-economic impact in a region in which a nuclear plant is decommissioned. The average age of nuclear power plants around the world is high, so that many are close to the end of their useful life. The issue of this impact will be important in a few years for various reasons, especially because those plants tend to be drivers of the economic activity in the areas in which they are located. The focus of this communication is on these socio-economic effects. Methodologically, socio-economic analysis uses a linear Social Accounting Matrix model that improves traditional Input–Output approaches by covering the induced effects generated from the receptors of income out to other sectors of the economy. The procedure is applied to an empirical analysis of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant in Spain. This was purposely chosen as sharing many of the general characteristics of nuclear plants around the world. If the plant is closed down, our results suggest that there will be a clear negative impact in terms of employment and added value generation.