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The future of Almaraz and energy blocks thousands of homes and projects in Madrid
The lack of decisions on the Almaraz plant and energy planning is holding back 116,000 homes and paralysing key digitalisation and AI projects. Madrid is calling for urgent solutions to avoid further blackouts and urban delays.
Life in Madrid could change more than it seems because of an issue that, at first sight, sounds remote: energy planning. The regional government warns that the lack of clear decisions on electricity supply and the future of the Almaraz nuclear power station is leaving the construction of 116,000 homes and the launch of 200 projects linked to digitalisation and artificial intelligence up in the air. The pace of the city, its neighbourhoods and the arrival of new residents are being affected by a bottleneck already felt in the everyday lives of those looking for a home or launching businesses.
The councillor for Environment, Agriculture and the Interior, Carlos Novillo, has insisted that the situation not only fails to improve but has worsened after the blackout of 28 April and the energy collapse that accompanied it. From Puerta del Sol, the message is clear: if the central government does not resolve Almaraz’s future and guarantee supply, Madrid will have to slow its growth. Novillo says that the lack of rigour in state planning has excluded 200 industrial projects, many of them essential to the region’s technological development.
The impact is felt especially in the new urban developments in the south-east, which could be delayed beyond 2030. The comparison is direct: if Canal de Isabel II had not planned the water supply, new homes could not be opened either. Now energy is becoming the new bottleneck for the city’s growth.
The councillor recalls that the Ministerio de Energía had committed to incorporating these developments during the period for submissions, but the response has still not arrived and the decree is more than a year behind schedule. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the Almaraz power station adds pressure: the decision on its closure or continuation remains pending, and the lack of a clear position complicates technical planning and the facility’s safety.
In Madrid, energy is not only an issue for experts: it affects people looking for a flat, those working in technological sectors and those who see the city adjusting its pace. The wait for a solution translates into stalled projects and a feeling that the immediate future depends, more than ever, on decisions made far from the neighbourhoods.
The Almaraz nuclear power station, located in the province of Cáceres, has been a pillar of electricity supply for Madrid and other regions for decades. Its future has been debated in recent years, with closure proposals and extensions subject to political and technical negotiations. For many people in the capital, Almaraz is a name that appears in headlines when energy is discussed, but its influence is felt in the stability of the grid and in the city’s ability to continue growing without shocks.