The Swedish government will increasingly rely on nuclear power in the future. The government announced that climate change makes it necessary to double electricity production. A large part of this will be provided by nuclear power, so new nuclear power plants equivalent to ten conventional reactors must be built by 2045. So far, six reactors are in operation at three locations in Sweden.
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“The government is therefore working with all its might to remove the hurdles that have been set up so far against new nuclear power,” it says in a statement. Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari now has a report from the Radiation Protection Agency analyzing how the regulatory framework should be developed and what other steps would be needed to expand nuclear power. On this basis, the government intends to present a concrete plan for the expansion of nuclear power next autumn. She emphasizes that she is also focusing on the expansion of wind power.
The report shows, among other things, which laws would have to be changed in order to create new conditions for new technical developments. This applies, for example, to emergency planning, financing and the handling of nuclear waste such as spent fuel rods. The radiation protection authority keeps an eye on environmental law, the Nuclear Technology Act and the Radiation Protection Act. The international exchange of know-how is also important in order to be able to use resources more efficiently.
exit from the exit
There are currently two reactors in Sweden at the Ringhals site, one in Oskarshamm and three in Forsmark. A repository for spent fuel elements is also to be built in Forsmark. The Swedish government approved the construction in January last year.
In 1980, following a referendum, Sweden decided to stop operating existing nuclear reactors and building new ones by 2010. At that time, six reactors were in operation. The nuclear debate in Sweden did not end there. In June 2010, parliament voted by a slim majority to abandon the phase-out law in principle, but to limit the share of nuclear energy. In theory, new reactors can be built again in Sweden, but the maximum number of reactors must not exceed the legal limit of ten reactors. In autumn 2022, the conservative government and its right-wing populist support party, the Sweden Democrats, agreed to expand nuclear power.
(anw)
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