In this Oct. 6, 2009 file photo, of a worker as he checks the controls inside the control room of the nuclear power plant of Santa Maria de Garona in Spain. The Spanish government said on Tuesday Aug. 1, 2017 that it is closing the country's oldest nuclear power station Santa Maria de Garona, because of lack of support among political parties and companies involved to keep it open and uncertainty surrounding the plant's viability. (AP Photo/I.Lopez, File) The Spanish government says it's closing the country's oldest nuclear power station because of lack of support among political parties and companies involved to keep it open.
Energy Minister Alvaro Nadal said Tuesday the license for the Santa Maria de Garona plant in northern Spain would not be renewed as there was too much uncertainty surrounding the plant's viability.
Production at the 46-year-old Garona was halted in 2012 when its operator, Nuclenor, objected to a new tax. Its board recently failed to reach agreement on keeping the plant open.
Environmentalists have long claimed that the plant is outdated, although Spain's Nuclear Security Council this year said it could continue operating.
Spain has seven other nuclear reactors that produce some 20 percent of the country's electricity.
In this Nov. 20, 2008 file photo, Civil Guard officers stand by Greenpeace activists during a protest to demand the facility's closure, as they block the entrance to the nuclear power plant of Santa Maria de Garona in Spain. The sign in the background reads, "Close Garona Now". The Spanish government said on Tuesday Aug. 1, 2017 it is closing the country's oldest nuclear power station of Santa Maria de Garona, because of lack of support among political parties and companies involved to keep it open and uncertainty surrounding the plant's viability. (AP Photo/Israel Lopez, File) 
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