Sweden eyes nuclear revival after 30-year ban

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - 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 center-right government launched legislation to allow the construction of new nuclear reactors, in a bid to replace the 10 aging 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 exacerbated 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.

"We want to clarify that the nuclear industry has to take full responsibility for all costs regarding the worst cases, if there was a real accident," Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren told Reuters. His ministry launched the bill.

Carlgren said that if passed, the nuclear industry could build new reactors only to replace existing ones.

"So we won't have more reactors than the 10 we have now. In 10 years' time, one or two (new reactors) could be invested in."

European states such as Finland, the Czech Republic and Britain are keen on nuclear power as a way to provide a reliable source of energy, cut the need for fossil fuel imports and reduce manmade carbon emissions.

The nuclear issue may loom large in the election campaign, where the center-right government faces an uphill battle to remain in power against a resurgent Social Democratic Party and some staunchly anti-nuclear opposition parties.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Mona Sahlin, is against building new reactors, and is hoping she will form a coalition government with the similarly anti-nuclear Greens and the ex-communist Left Party. However, many in her party are in favor of nuclear power, particularly the trade unions.

"Nuclear power is probably going to be one of four or five issues in this election," Folke Johansson, a professor of political science at Gothenburg University, told Reuters.

"But it is not going to be the dominating one," he said, suggesting that jobs and the economy will be more important.

"Nuclear power was very controversial in the late 70s and the 1980s — one government fell because of that issue," he said, adding that the debate has softened since then.

Surveys show nuclear power is now favored by the most Swedes. Atomic energy was ranked by Swedes the best energy source to protect the environment and create jobs in a March poll, with 26 percent of people surveyed ranking it top, ahead of wind power (21 percent) or hydro power (18 percent).

But passing the legislation will not be an easy task also because a group of rebel coalition MPs are set to join the opposition in voting against the bill. It would only take four government MPs to block it, and two have already said "No."

"This is a question of responsibility — a security issue — for me," said one of the rebel MPs Eva Selin Lindgren, pointing to the risks of nuclear proliferation and storage.

The nuclear industry welcomed the bill as a step in the right direction at a time when maintaining the old reactors, some who have been online since 1972, takes increasing effort.

"It's a possibility for us to develop our nuclear business, so we think the bill is a positive step," said Mats Ladeborn, head of Vattenfall's nuclear power activities.

"We are implementing the biggest modernization in the nuclear history of Sweden. We had planned for the power stations to be running before winter time (but) it took longer than expected and was more complex than we could foresee," he said.

Sweden produces nuclear energy at three plants — Forsmark, Ringhals and Oskarhamn — supplying around 9300 megawatts (MW).

The reactors have suffered shutdowns this winter as operators E.ON, Vattenfall and Fortum implement upgrades to boost capacity and safety standards.

Start-up times have been delayed, helping push Nordic spot power prices to a peak of 134.80 euros per megawatt hour in February — four times the average 2009 level.

The bill is not only good news for the industry, however, as it places a bigger burden on owners should things go awry.

If a nuclear accident now occurs, plant owners must cover costs of up to 3 billion crowns (US $421.4 million), while the state covers up to an additional 3 billion crowns. The new bill quadruples the owners liability to 12 billion crowns.