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Nuclear Power: Sweden's About Turn
/*By James Griffin
*/
The Swedish Government's new energy plan launched at the start of
February calls for, by the year 2020, an increase in the use of
renewable energy sources so that they account for 50 percent of the
country's generation, and a cut in carbon emissions by 40 percent from
their 1990 levels. These are both striking targets, but when analyzing
the media coverage following the announcement, neither grabbed any real
headlines. The major spotlight was on the proposal to do away with plans
to phase out the country's current nuclear build, and perhaps most
significantly, the green light for a new generation of nuclear reactors.
The nuclear decision is momentous for a number of reasons. Firstly,
because Sweden was at the forefront of anti-nuclear sentiment following
the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979 and voted in
a referendum a year later to phase out its existing plants. Secondly, it
might point the way for European Union (EU) countries similar to Sweden,
which see growing energy insecurity. Sweden has no significant fossil
fuel resources, and hydropower is largely tapped to a maximum. And
thirdly, looking EU-wide, it could provide a considerable fillip to the
region's nuclear power industry.
Sweden has a long tradition of domestic nuclear power, with its first
nuclear reactor built in the late 1950s. In 1980, however, after years
of heated debate about the pros and cons of nuclear, the then prime
minister, Olof Palme, submitted the issue to a referendum, with the
outcome being the phasing out of the country's nuclear plants by 2010.
Since then, the two reactors at the country's Bärseback plant have
closed, but the other ten plants still remain. These have proved
difficult to phase out, with increasingly complex issues at play as time
has gone on.
The difficulties centre on two key issues. There is the increasing
concern of climate change. And then there is the fact that Sweden has
generated roughly the same amount of electricity since its last nuclear
reactor came online in 1985 and still gets around 45 percent of its
electricity from nuclear. It leads to the question: what can replace
this? Hydropower has limited room for expansion. Renewables are
obviously an important option, but within Sweden there appears to be a
realization that these alternatives cannot meet all the country's needs.
Another option is to significantly increase its energy reliance on
others, particularly in regard to fossil fuels, but this has very few
advocates.
What is left is new nuclear build. This has particularly come to the
fore since the election in 2006 of the first right-of-centre Government
in Sweden for 12 years. Though the four-party coalition of Prime
Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt was split three to one, the dissenting Centre
Party said that it would not block the move. And it is also apparent
that the Swedish public is swinging behind the nuclear choice. Widely
reported recent public opinion polls indicate a positive change in
sentiment towards nuclear, as the country becomes increasingly dependent
on energy imports and climate change issues expand in the public's
consciousness.
These types of sentiments are also being witnessed across other
countries in Europe. For example, there have been many positive noises
made for new nuclear build in the UK, though no concrete proposals as
yet; in Germany, which has in the past been like Sweden in firmly
stating its opposition to new nuclear, there is now open talk of the
need to debate whether new plants should be constructed; and Poland has
stated that it wants its first nuclear plant by 2020.
In addition, there are actual moves on the ground. In Finland,
construction of the Olkiluoto nuclear plant continues, and although
already overdue and over budget, many see it as paving the way for new
nuclear build in the EU. In fact, at around the same time as the Swedish
announcement, Finnish-based Fortum stated that it wanted to build a
second new nuclear plant on the island of Hästholmen in Loviisa.
According to the plan, which has been submitted to the government, the
new unit will be operational in 2020. And in France, there has been
recent confirmation that a new nuclear reactor will be built at the
Penly plant, located northeast of Dieppe.
The Swedish proposals state that any new reactors would be built on the
three current nuclear plant sites at Oskarshamn, Ringhals and Forsmark,
that at most ten nuclear reactors would be operated at the same time,
and that it would likely be 13-to -15 years before a new reactor is
built. This certainly seems feasible, given the number, timeframe, and
the fact that Sweden has domestic technical know-how that it can bring
to bear, which will be extremely important if there is a global rush in
new nuclear power plant construction.
Yet, there are also plenty of hurdles that still need to be overcome.
There is the regulatory risk associated with safety regulations, design
licensing and of course there is the waste issue. There is the policy
risk where electoral cycles might undermine previous commitments to
nuclear and associated facilities. And there is the cost risk, which is
underlined clearly in the government's statement that it will not
provide financial support for new reactors. Given the high costs and
long lead times for nuclear plant construction, alongside such issues as
the present financial climate and volatile electricity prices, there are
plenty of question marks over “only” private sector finance.
The Swedish Government's decision still has to be approved by the
Parliament, but despite this, its dramatic policy switch shows that even
a country where popular opinion has been strongly against nuclear power
previously, there can be an about turn. The twin threats of energy
security and climate change are driving this change. They appear to be
returning nuclear to the mainstream—a viable and practical energy option
for the future.
“Il segreto della FELICITÀ è la LIBERTÀ. E il segreto della Libertà è il CORAGGIO” (Tucidide, V secolo a.C. )
“Freedom must be armed better than tyranny” (Zelenskyy)