Nuclear can make a comeback in Sweden to help study Power Gap
(Bloomberg) – Sweden can turn to a new kind of small nuclear reactors to help meet the sky-high demand for electricity in the coming decade.
The state power plant Vattenfall AB said on Tuesday that they will begin an 18-month study if it is reasonable to have at least two so-called small modular reactors adjacent to the Ringhalsverket on the country’s west coast. The Swedish government said last week that the country is facing a power crisis and that all technology should be taken into account when increasing deliveries.
If Vattenfall builds the new facilities, it would underline an enormous change in energy policy in a nation where nuclear power was seen as a mere memory for many years. But Europe’s energy crisis is increasing politics and the energy economy, and countries from France to Britain are also looking at technology.
Nuclear power gets a fresh look when nations pursue climate goals
Sweden needs all the new power it can get as the electrification of society and the construction of energy-intensive factories that do everything from batteries to green steel in the north will need a lot of new capacity.
Ringhals is considered a viable location because the company may replace two discontinued units there, according to current legislation.
The first of the small reactors could start operating in the early 2030s if the pilot study shows that it is profitable and there are suitable investment conditions, especially new rules for nuclear power, says Vattenfall’s CEO Anna Borg in a statement.
During the last decade, the company has decommissioned several old reactors as they have often become unprofitable to operate. Major investments were also needed to meet safety requirements from regulators. Ringhals currently has two reactors in operation, both from the early 1980s, which are expected to provide electricity for another two decades.
The capacity of an SMR is about 300 megawatts, or a quarter of a new large unit, according to Vattenfall’s website. The company already has access to some expertise – it bought a minority stake in the Estonian start-up company Fermi Energia, which is also trying to install small modular reactors in the country at the beginning of the next decade.
(Updates with details about Ringhals site in the fifth paragraph.)
© 2022 Bloomberg LP