Swedes hope to lift 30-year ban on new nuclear reactors.

[NNadir]

Sweden’s election-year push to overturn a 30-year-old ban on new nuclear reactors will test how much green concerns on atomic power still resonate in a modern European state seeking cheap and carbon-free electricity.

The centre-right government on Monday launched legislation to allow the construction of new nuclear reactors, in a bid to replace the 10 ageing reactors which still produce about 40 percent of Sweden’s electricity.

Sweden was at the forefront of Western Europe’s anti-nuclear movement after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 in the United States.

In 1980, Swedes voted in a referendum to phase out existing reactors by 2010 and their fears were exarcebated with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which was first spotted internationally by Swedish authorities.

But finding alternative sources of energy proved too tough, so in 1997 Sweden decided to retain most of its reactors.

Over the years repairs and maintenance have proven more difficult than expected, with protracted outages this winter lifting Nordic electricity prices to record highs.

Now the cabinet hopes to lift the ban and ensure the atom remains a major component of Sweden’s energy mix without stirring up long-held divisions over nuclear power.

The bill will not expand nuclear power, the government says, but maintain it at present levels, upgrade technology and increase the liability of owners as a way of limiting the risks of accidents.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Sweden+eyes+nuclear+revival+years+after/2711027/story.html#ixzz0iveKeTAE">Calgary Herald: Sweden eyes nuclear revival.

We'll just add this to the list of phased out phase outs, including those of Belgium, Italy and, as now seems likely, Germany.



Have a nice evening.