Spain demolishes its last coal plant in Castilla y León, losing 4.5 GW of firm capacity

Farewell to the last coal-fired power plant in Castilla y León: 4.5 GW of firm capacity disappear

A thousand kilos of dynamite were not enough to bring down the Compostilla II coal-fired power plant in Cubillos del Sil entirely. The base of the chimney serving units 4 and 5 remained standing, as if to remind everyone that El Bierzo does not give up easily. But the symbol is gone: the last coal plant in Castilla y León has been wiped off the map.

The demolition operation, planned as a technical milestone, has become a metaphor for an energy policy that some describe as scorched earth. In recent years, the region has lost around 4,500 MW of constant generation: the 2,400 MW of the Ponferrada plant, the 1,000 MW of La Robla and the 1,200 MW of Velilla, plus Compostilla II. Capacity that did not depend on sun or wind, and that ran around the clock.

The gap left by firm capacity

With these plants gone, the Spanish power grid has lost a critical buffer. According to the figures cited in the debate, Spain consumes roughly one third of the electricity it can produce, but margins are narrowing. Blackouts have already occurred — such as the one last April and the near-blackout in January — and the grid has begun rejecting new connection requests from homes, data centres and industry. The ministry in charge (which some call the "ministry of deindustrialisation") has held up permits due to lack of supply.

Meanwhile, the international context is heading in another direction. Germany has reactivated lignite plants — the dirtiest coal — after closing its nuclear plants, and China remains the country building the most thermal power stations, even to manufacture the solar panels we then import. The paradox does not go unnoticed.

A 40-year-old facility that could have lasted a century

Compostilla II was barely 40 years old, and according to some technical analyses it had another 100 years of useful life left. In other countries, plans are being made to convert these plants to micronuclear use, but here they are blown up. The decision, taken in the middle of the regional election campaign, has been seen by many as irreversible: if public opinion changes, there will be no way back. "Scorched-earth politics," critics conclude.

The impact is not only energetic. In a region like El Bierzo, which is losing population and economic activity, the demolition leaves truck drivers, mechanics and other sectors linked to mining and thermal generation without jobs. The promise of reindustrialisation rings hollow when there is no firm power to attract new factories.

The closure was made possible by mobilising a thousand kilos of explosives. The chimney base that did not fall is perhaps the most fitting image: the resistance of a territory watching its industrial past evaporate without a clear plan for the future.