The Economic History of Nuclear Energy in Spain (eBook)

M.d.Mar Rubio-Varas is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics at the Public University of Navarre, Spain. She is an energy economist and economic historian; her research interests focus on the long-term relationships between energy consumption and economic growth, covering aspects of energy external dependence and the transition to a low carbon economy. She has published in international journals of economic history, energy policy and environmental economics. Joseba De la Torre is Professor of Economic History at the Public University of Navarre, Spain. He is a specialist of the industrial policy and the indicative planning of developmentalism during the Franco regime. He has been Visiting Professor at La Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris, France, and at the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies of New York University, USA. He was previously Dean of Faculty of Economics and Business at the Public University of Navarre, Spain.

Preface 7
Chronology of the Spanish Nuclear Program 14
Acknowledgments 16
Contents 19
Abbreviations 21
List of Figures 24
List of Tables 26
1: Seeking the Perennial Fountain of the World’s Prosperity 27
The Macro-economic Background to the Nuclear Decision-making 30
1950s–1971: Hyper-growth After World War II—The Golden Age 31
Slowdown and Oil Crisis 33
1982–1990s: Restructuring the World Economy 35
Economic Policy, Industrial Economics and Business Decision-making 38
The Spanish Nuclear Program: Pioneer and Outlier 44
2: Who was Who in the Making of Spanish Nuclear Programme, c.1950–1985 59
Atoms for a Dictatorship 60
Scientists and the Military in the Autarkic Nuclear Project 62
Entrepreneurs and Engineers: The Challenge of a Nascent Industry 64
Promoters and Technocrats: The Triumph of Nuclear Developmentalism 66
Planners, Consultants and Multinationals: Nuclear Utopia Unchained 70
The Power of Democracy 75
Activists and Defenders of the Territory: The Anti-­nuclear Spirit 76
Lobbyists and Politicians in Transition: The Status Quo Threatened 79
3: The Nuclear Business and the Spanish Electric-Banking Oligopoly: The First Steps 92
Introduction 92
The Journey Towards the Commercialization of Nuclear Electric Energy: From Ideas to Reality 95
Nuclear Trade-Off: National Interests and Businesses Condoned to Agree 98
Electrical Companies Come on the Scene: CADRI 98
Apparent Brotherhood 101
Power in the Background: The Technical and Organizational Capacities of Electric Companies managed by the Financial Sector 103
4: Human Capital and Physics Research for the Spanish Nuclear Program 122
The Atomic Bombs in Japan and Their Reception in Spain 125
The Beginnings of Nuclear Research in Spain 127
José María Otero-Navascués, Architect of the Spanish Nuclear Programme 129
JEN as Revitalizer of Spanish Physics 130
Spanish Experimental Physics at CERN 134
JEN as a Promoter of Theoretical Physics 135
Conclusion 138
5: How did Spain Become the Major US Nuclear Client? 143
The Global Market for Nuclear Reactors 1950s–1980s: The US Leadership Through Technology and Financial Facilities 144
The Spanish Market for Nuclear Reactors and US Economic Diplomacy 149
The Nuclear Financial Compromises: A Peek into Repayment 162
6: An Alternative Route? France’s Position in the Spanish Nuclear Program, c. 1950s–1980s 178
France Goes (and Remains) Nuclear: State and Businesses in the French Nuclear Program 181
The Largest Ever French Nuclear Operation in Spain: The Vandellós 1 Plant 185
Vandellós 1, Starting or End Point? 193
Concluding Remarks 197
7: The Long Road to the Trillo Nuclear Power Plant: West Germany in the Spanish Nuclear Race 210
Introduction 210
Cooperating Within the New Nuclear Faith: German Scientists in the Early Spanish Nuclear Program, 1949–66 212
Towards a Nuclear Industrial Ecosystem in West Germany 213
The First Relationships with Spain: From Heavy Water to Networking 216
The German Nuclear Industry Within the Spanish Market, 1967–75 219
Between the Failed AEG Contract and the Fast-Breeder Reactor 220
The Capture of the Trillo Contract in the “Great Spanish Nuclear Market” 223
8: Energy Planning, Nuclear Promises and Realities 239
Visions of the Future: Nuclear Optimism and Energy Planning 241
Spanish Energy External Dependence and the Energy Matrix 249
Nuclear Fuel and Spanish Energy Dependence 252
Nuclear Power: Oil Dependence, Energy Diversification and Electricity Prices 256
The Industrial Boost 261
Some Concluding Remarks 264
Appendix A. List of Nuclear Projects in Spain since 1959 to Present 271
Appendix B. Spanish Nuclear Industry (2011) 277
Bibliography 280
Archives and Libraries 280
Periodicals, Newspapers and Magazines 281
List of References 281
Index 299