View source for Nuclear power in Sweden

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Sweden nuke plant map}}
The [[electricity sector in Sweden]] has three operational [[nuclear power plants]] with 6 operational [[nuclear reactor]]s, which produce about 30% of the country's electricity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pris.iaea.org/pris/CountryStatistics/CountryDetails.aspx?current=SE |title=PRIS - Country Details}}</ref> The nation's largest [[power station]], [[Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant]], has three reactors producing 3.3 GW and 14% of [[Sweden]]'s electricity.

Sweden formerly had a nuclear phase-out policy, aiming to end nuclear power generation in Sweden by 2010. On 5 February 2009, the [[Government of Sweden]] announced an agreement allowing for the replacement of existing reactors, effectively ending the phase-out policy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/sweden-reverses-nuclear-phase-out/ |date=November 11, 2009 |first=Johan |last=Borgenäs |title=Sweden Reverses Nuclear Phase-out Policy |publisher=[[Nuclear Threat Initiative]]}}</ref>

In June 2023, the new [[Kristersson Cabinet]] established after the country's [[2022 Swedish general election|2022 election]] voted to switch the national energy target from 100% renewable electricity by 2045 to 100% fossil fuel-free electricity by 2045, a move seen as supporting and extending the ongoing use of nuclear power in the country.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.power-technology.com/news/sweden-adopts-new-fossil-free-target-making-way-for-nuclear/|title=Sweden adopts new fossil-free target, making way for nuclear|author=Florence Jones|page=|publisher=Power Technology|date=2023-06-22|access-date=2023-06-28}}</ref> At the time, hydro, nuclear, and wind power already produced 98% of Sweden's electricity, with the government aiming to increase electricity production from carbon-free sources to meet an estimated doubling of national electricity consumption by 2040.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/swedish-parliament-passes-new-energy-target-easing-way-new-nuclear-power-2023-06-20/|title=Swedish parliament passes new energy target, easing way for new nuclear power|author=Simon Johnson|page=|publisher=Reuters|date=2023-06-20|access-date=2023-06-28}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Electricity generation in Sweden.svg|thumb|Electricity production in Sweden by type]]
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|colors=#0080FF, #006699, #003366, <!--Forsmark 3, 2, 1-->
#DD8700, #AA3C00, #FF6F00, #882200, <!--Ringhals 4, 3, 2, 1-->
#EEDD00, #BBAA00, #886600, <!--Oskarshamn 3, 2, 1-->
#6FDD00, #00994C  <!--Barsebäck 2, 1-->
}}
|caption = Nuclear power production in Sweden by reactor
}}

===Early history===
Sweden began research into nuclear energy in 1947 with the establishment of the Atomic Energy Company, [[AB Atomenergi]], which originated in the ongoing military research and development at the Defence Institute FOA.<ref>T. Jonter: Nuclear Weapon Research in Sweden. The Co-operation Between Civilian and Military Research, 1947-1972, SKI Report 02:18</ref> 
In 1954, the country built its first small research [[heavy water reactor]], the [[R1 nuclear reactor]]. The R1 was dismantled in 1970.
It was followed by two heavy water reactors: Ågesta or [[R3 nuclear reactor]], a small heat and power reactor in 1964, and Marviken or [[R4 nuclear reactor]] which was finished but never operated (was never loaded with nuclear fuel), due to several safety issues.<ref>Jonter ibid</ref> The R3 reactor stopped operations in 1974 and is to be demolished with work beginning in 2020 and ending 2025. The R4 project was cancelled in 1970, with the site being used in non-nuclear capacity since.
Also a reactor named the [[R2 nuclear reactor]], the second nuclear reactor in Sweden, was built in Studsvik, east of [[Nyköping]]. Studsvik also hosted a reactor named R2-0 nuclear reactor. Both R2 and R2-0 were small research reactors, and both were decommissioned in 2005. Furthermore there was also a third research reactor in Studsvik called FR-0 nuclear reactor which was a zero-power fast reactor with low power output. It was operated 1964–1971 and was then dismantled.

On 1 May 1969, the prototype nuclear [[cogeneration]] plant [[Ågestaverket]] (R3) suffered an incident in which secondary cooling water flooded through a broken valve and caused a number of electrical problems in the plant, resulting in a 4-day shutdown.<ref>[http://www.stralsakerhetsmyndigheten.se/Global/Publikationer/Rapport/Sakerhet-vid-karnkraftverken/1996/SKI-Rapport-1996-51.pdf The Flooding Incident at the Ågesta Pressurized Heavy Water Nuclear Power Plant (pdf)]</ref>

R1, R3, and particularly the never finished R4 project at [[Marviken]] were [[heavy water reactor]]s, motivated by the option to use Swedish uranium without isotope enrichment and by the possibility to use the reactors to produce [[weapons grade plutonium]] for Swedish [[nuclear warhead]]s. The [[Swedish nuclear weapons program]] was eventually shut down, however, and Sweden signed the [[nuclear non-proliferation treaty]] in 1968.<ref>"Neutral Sweden Quietly Keeps Nuclear Option Open", ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 25 November 1994</ref>

Six [[nuclear reactors]] began commercial service in the 1970s, and another six through 1985. Nine of the reactors were designed by [[Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget]] (ASEA), and three supplied by [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]].

===Plans for nuclear phase-out===
After the [[Three Mile Island accident]] in 1979, there was a [[1980 Swedish nuclear power referendum|national referendum in Sweden]] about the future of nuclear power. As a result of this, the [[Riksdag]] decided in 1980 that no further nuclear power plants should be built, and that a [[nuclear power phase-out]] should be completed by 2010. Some observers have condemned the referendum as flawed because people could only vote "NO to nuclear", although three options were basically a harder or a softer "NO".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-50/sweden-print.htm|title=Nuclear Power Plants in Sweden during the Last 40 Years|last=Nils-Olov Jonsson and Carl Berglöf|date=2016|website=European Nuclear Society|access-date=2018-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002020344/https://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-50/sweden-print.htm|archive-date=2018-10-02|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Political Communication Ethics: An Oxymoron?|last=E. Denton (Jr.)|first=Robert|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2000|isbn=9780275964832|pages=159}}</ref>

After the 1986 [[Chernobyl accident]] in [[USSR]], the question of security of nuclear energy was again raised. 
In July 1992 an incident at Barsebäck 2 showed that the five older boiling water reactors had had potentially reduced capacity in their emergency core cooling systems since they started operation. Mineral wool was dislodged and ended up in the suppression pool where it clogged the suction strainers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/gen-comm/bulletins/1996/bl96003.html|title = Bulletin 96-03: Potential Plugging of Emergency Core Cooling Suction Strainers by Debris in Boiling-}}</ref> It was classified as a grade 2 incident in the [[IAEA]] [[INES scale]], due to the degradation of defence-in-depth. All five reactors were ordered down by the Nuclear Inspectorate for remedial action where backwash and additional strainers were installed. Most of the reactors were back in operation by next Spring, but Oskarshamn 1 remained down until January 1996 due to other work being carried out.

During the late 1990s a unique capacity tax on nuclear power (''effektskatten'') was introduced. It was initially set at 5514 SEK per [[MWth]] per month, and only applied to nuclear power plants, thus penalizing them relative to other energy sources. In January 2006 it was almost doubled (at 10,200 SEK per MWth per month).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/sweden.aspx|title = Nuclear Energy in Sweden - World Nuclear Association}}</ref> An agreement struck in June 2016 among other things meant the capacity tax would be phased out by 2019. By then the tax constituted about one third of the cost of operating a nuclear reactor.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thelocal.se/20160610/sweden-agrees-to-continue-nuclear-power |title=Sweden strikes deal to continue nuclear power |date=10 June 2016 |newspaper=[[The Local]]}}</ref>

In 1997 the [[Riksdag]] decided to shut down one of the reactors at [[Barsebäck nuclear power plant]] by 1 July 1998 and the second before 1 July 2001, although under the condition that their energy production would be compensated.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Global Climate Change: The Science, Economics and Politics|last=M. Griffin|first=James|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|year=2003|isbn=9781843767138|pages=238}}</ref> 
The next conservative government tried to cancel the phase-out, but, after protests, decided instead to extend the time limit to 2010. At Barsebäck, block&nbsp;1 was shut down on 30 November 1999 and block&nbsp;2 on 1 June 2005.

In August 2006 three of Sweden's ten nuclear reactors were shut down due to safety concerns following an incident at [[Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant]], in which two out of four emergency power generators failed causing a power shortage. It was classified as a grade 2 incident in the INES scale, due to the degradation of defence-in-depth.

In 2006 the [[Centre Party of Sweden]], an opposition party that until then had supported the phase-out, announced that it was dropping its opposition to nuclear power, at least for the time being, claiming that it is unrealistic to expect the phase-out in the short term. It said it would now support the stance of the other opposition parties in [[Alliance for Sweden]], which were considerably more pro-nuclear than the then [[Socialdemokraterna|Social Democratic]] government.<ref>[http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3940&date=20060530&PHPSESSID=4af44e9bb9f9e6d01e049596bf3f7660 Centre dumps nuclear deal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302202216/http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3940&date=20060530&PHPSESSID=4af44e9bb9f9e6d01e049596bf3f7660 |date=2008-03-02 }}, [[The Local]], 30 May 2006</ref>

===Phase-out abandoned===
On 17 June 2010, the [[Riksdag]] adopted a decision allowing the replacement of the existing reactors with new nuclear reactors, starting from 1 January 2011.<ref name=wnn180610>{{cite news |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_New_phase_for_Swedish_nuclear_1806101.html |title=New phase for Swedish nuclear |date=18 June 2010 |work=World Nuclear News  |access-date=18 June 2010}}</ref>

In June 2016, the coalition government decided to abolish the nuclear power output tax in 2019 and to successively replace the existing reactors with new ones.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sweden abolishes nuclear tax|language=en|date=2016-06-10|url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Sweden-abolishes-nuclear-tax-1006169.html|access-date=2022-11-08|website=World Nuclear News}}</ref> In October 2022, the new Swedish governing decided to have Ringhals 1 and 2 reactors restarted and the construction of further reactors examined.<ref>{{cite web|author=|title=New Swedish government seeks expansion of nuclear energy|language=en|date=2022-10-17|url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/New-Swedish-government-seeks-expansion-of-nuclear|access-date=2022-10-18|website=World Nuclear News}}</ref>

===Nuclear revival===
In June 2023, the new [[Kristersson Cabinet]] established after the country's [[2022 Swedish general election|2022 election]] voted to switch the national energy target from 100% renewable electricity by 2045 to 100% fossil fuel-free electricity by 2045, a move seen as supporting and extending the ongoing use of nuclear power in the country.<ref name="auto"/> At the time, hydro, nuclear, and wind power already produced 98% of Sweden's electricity, with the government aiming to increase electricity production from carbon-free sources to meet an estimated doubling of national electricity consumption by 2040.<ref name="auto1"/>

In November 2023, more details about the new nuclear policy, which is to enter into force on 1 January 2024, were revealed. The current 10 reactor cap will be dropped, permitting process will be shortened and new nuclear reactors will be allowed also on new sites and not just existing ones. A target of 2500 MWe of nuclear power by 2035 was announced, as electricity consumption is expected to rise to 300 TWh by 2045.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-11-22|title=Sweden plans 'massive' expansion of nuclear energy |url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Roadmap-launched-for-expansion-of-nuclear-energy-i|website=www.world-nuclear-news.org}}</ref> In 2024, a Swedish government study proposed a new financing and risk sharing model providing a sufficient return on investment for the private sector to invest in new nuclear power. The proposal involved three elements: government loans, [[contract for difference]] guaranteed electricity pricing financed by consumers, and a mechanism ensuring a minimum return for equity investors.<ref name=wnn-20240813>{{cite news |url=https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Financing-model-proposed-for-new-Swedish-reactors |title=Financing model proposed for new Swedish reactors |website=World Nuclear News |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref>

==List of electricity producing nuclear reactors==
{{trim|{{#section-h::List of commercial nuclear reactors|Sweden}}}}

==Decommissioned reactors==
The decommissioned nuclear reactors of Sweden are:
* [[R1 (nuclear reactor)|R1]] reactor, dismantled in 1970
* [[Studsvik|R2]] reactor, decommissioned in 2005
* [[Studsvik|R2-0]] reactor, decommissioned in 2005
* [[Studsvik|FR-0]] reactor, dismantled after 1971
* [[Ågesta Nuclear Plant]] R3, decommissioned 1974, demolition planned 2020-2025
* [[R4 nuclear reactor]], cancelled in 1970
* [[Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant]] Reactor 1, decommissioned 1999, demolition planned 2020-2028
* [[Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant]] Reactor 2, decommissioned 2005, demolition planned 2020-2028
* [[Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant]] Unit 1, decommissioned 2017, demolition planned 2020-2028
* [[Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant]] Unit 2, decommissioned 2016, demolition planned 2020-2028
* [[Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant]] R1, decommissioned 2020
* [[Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant]] R2, decommissioned 2019

==Public opinion==
The nuclear energy phase-out is controversial in Sweden. The energy production of the remaining nuclear power plants has been considerably increased in recent years to compensate for the Barsebäck shut-down.

In May 2005, a poll of residents living around Barsebäck found that 94% wanted it to stay. The subsequent leak of radioactive water from the nuclear waste store in Forsmark did not lead to a major change in public opinion.<ref>[http://sydsvenskan.se/skane/article115573.ece Vindkraftverk möter största motståndet i Skåne] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226023558/http://sydsvenskan.se/skane/article115573.ece |date=2005-12-26 }}, [[Sydsvenskan]], 15 August 2005</ref> According to a poll of January 2008, 48% of Swedes were in favour of building new nuclear reactors, 39% were opposed and 13% were undecided. However, the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] in [[Japan]] reversed prior support of nuclear power, with polls showing that 64% of Swedes opposed new reactors while 27% supported them.<ref>[http://www.thelocal.se/32690/20110319/ Swedes oppose new nuclear power: poll], ''The Local'', 19 March 2011</ref> However, in a poll November 2019 the public opinion has changed with 78% in favor of nuclear power and only 11% against.<ref>[https://www.nyteknik.se/energi/rekordfa-ar-emot-karnkraft-i-sverige-6979356 Rekordfå är emot kärnkraft i Sverige], ''NyTeknik'', 22 November 2019</ref>

Prior public support for nuclear power stood in contrast to the stances of the major political parties in Sweden, but after the polls in late 2019 the debate changed and the parties that want to build new nuclear power in Sweden ([[Sweden Democrats|SD]], [[Moderate Party|M]], [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|KD]], [[Liberals (Sweden)|L]] ) put forth a demand to the leading government party, the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democrats]] to choose a path forward, otherwise they might break with the standing energy agreement and work to reform the policy towards nuclear power, outside of the influence of the minority government.<ref>[https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/samhalle/a/0nOMAg/tar-strid-for-mer-karnkraft--kraver-att-s-valjer-vag Tar strid för mer kärnkraft – kräver att S väljer väg], [[Aftonbladet]], 29 October 2019</ref>

== Nuclear waste ==
Sweden has a well-developed nuclear waste management policy. Low-level waste is currently stored at the reactor sites or destroyed at [[Studsvik]]. The country has dedicated a ship, [[MS Sigyn|M/S ''Sigyn'']], to move waste from power plants to repositories.  Sweden has also constructed a [[geological repository|permanent underground repository]], [[SFR, final repository for short-lived radioactive waste]], with a capacity of 63,000 cubic meters for intermediate and low-level waste. A central interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, Clab, is located near Oskarshamn. The government has also identified two potential candidates for burial of additional waste (high-level), [[Oskarshamn municipality|Oskarshamn]] and [[Östhammar municipality|Östhammar]].<ref name="inf42">{{cite web |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf42.html |title=Nuclear Energy in Sweden |work=World Nuclear Association |date=April 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-date=20 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220005547/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf42.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Anti-nuclear activists==
[[File:Miljöaktivister - Barsebäck-Sweden - 1986.jpg|thumb|Environmental activists in front of the Barsebäck nuclear power plant. These road signs were put up on roads around the power plant two weeks after the [[Chernobyl disaster]].]]
In June 2010, Greenpeace [[anti-nuclear]] activists invaded Forsmark nuclear power plant to protest the then-plan to remove the government prohibition on building new nuclear power plants.  In October 2012, 20 Greenpeace activists scaled the outer perimeter fence of the Ringhals nuclear plant, and there was also an incursion of 50 activists at the Forsmark plant. Greenpeace said that its non-violent actions were protests against the continuing operation of these reactors, which it says are unsafe in European stress tests, and to emphasise that stress tests did nothing to prepare against threats from outside the plant. A report by the Swedish nuclear regulator said that "the current overall level of protection against sabotage is insufficient". Although Swedish nuclear power plants have security guards, the police are responsible for emergency response. The report criticised the level of cooperation between nuclear site staff and police in the case of sabotage or attack.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurethe-antis-attack/ |title=The antis attack! |date=5 April 2013 |work=Nuclear Engineering International |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-date=18 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918201829/http://www.neimagazine.com/features/featurethe-antis-attack/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Photo gallery ==

<gallery>
File:Forsmark3.jpg|The [[Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant]]
File:Oskarshamns-kärnkraftverk.jpg|The [[Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant]]
File:Ringhals.JPG|The [[Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant]]
File:Barsebäck.jpg|The [[Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant]], which has been shut down
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Politics of Sweden]]
* [[Nuclear energy policy]]
* [[Energy policy of the European Union]]

== Notes ==

{{notelist}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* William D. Nordhaus, ''The Swedish Nuclear Dilemma — Energy and the Environment'', 1997 Hardcover, {{ISBN|0-915707-84-5}}.
* Arne Kaijser / Jan-Henrik Meyer, ''“The World's Worst Located Nuclear Power Plant”: Danish and Swedish perspectives on the Swedish nuclear power plant Barsebäck.'' Journal for the History of Environment and Society 3 (2018): 71-105. [https://doi.org/10.1484/J.JHES.5.116795 Full Text]
* Arne Kaijser, ''Sweden. Short Country Report (History of Nuclear Energy and Society Project) Update 2018.'' http://www.honest2020.eu/sites/default/files/deliverables_24/SW.pdf.

== External links ==

* {{cite web  |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf42.html  |title=Nuclear Power in Sweden  |date=January 2009  |work=Country Briefings  |publisher=[[World Nuclear Association]] (WNA)  |access-date=18 April 2009  |archive-date=20 February 2012  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220005547/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf42.html  |url-status=dead  }}
;News
* 3 August 2006, ''[[BBC]]'': [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5241780.stm Swedes shut down some nuclear reactors following testing failures]

{{Energy in Sweden}}
{{Europe topic|Nuclear energy in|state=expand}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuclear Power In Sweden}}
[[Category:Nuclear power in Sweden| ]]