In a recent blog, I discussed an argument by the Nuclear Energy Institute to the effect that new nuclear reactors were necessary because of rising electricity demand. Apparently, the idea that electrical demand is rising is not universally accepted.
Sweden began investigating nuclear energy in the forties and built several heavy water reactors that could utilize Swedish uranium without needing isotope enrichment. When Sweden signed the Non-Proliferation treaty in 1968 which precluded the use of plutonium as fuel for reactors, they switched to light water reactors. Six reactors began commercial operations in the 1970s, another six were built by 1985. Two reactors have been closed leaving a total of ten operating reactors at three nuclear power plants. Nuclear power currently supplies about half of Sweden’s electricity.
After the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979, Sweden held a national referendum on the future of nuclear power in Sweden. The people voted against nuclear power and the Swedish government put a ban on the construction of new reactors in 1980. They also created a nuclear phase-out policy which intended to end the use of nuclear power in Sweden.
In 1992, it was found that five reactors had been operating without emergency cooling capability because of clogged drains. All five were shut down and repairs were made. There have been other problems at Swedish nuclear reactors since then and the political debate over the phase out continued. Ultimately, concerns about energy security and global warming caused the Swedish parliament to reverse the existing ban on reactor construction and end the phase-out plans in June of 2010..
Vattenfall AB, is the largest Scandinavian utility. It generates power through hydroelectric and nuclear energy. It currently operates seven nuclear reactors in Sweden at the Forsmark and Ringhals power plants. When the change in policy was announced by the Swedish government, Vattenfall quickly requested permission to build an unspecified number of new reactors starting in 2025.
Vattenfall recently announced that it was going to extend the lifespan of existing Swedish nuclear reactors and delay the construction of any new Swedish reactors for at least five years. The reason they offered for such a decision was the fact that their forecasts fail to anticipate a rise in demand for electricity and rising electricity production as wind turbines are brought online in the near future. Their analysis of electricity demands and need for new reactors is ongoing and they do not feel that they will be able to make a well-informed decision on investment in new reactors for at least another ten years. Their plan calls for modernization of their Ringhals reactors to extend their lifespan by ten years. Under the new plan, two of Vattenfall’s reactors at the Ringhals power stations will operate until 2025 and another two Ringhals reactors will operate until 2040.
So even a country with its own supply of uranium and reactors that supply half its electricity is not sure it wants or needs more nuclear reactors.
Ringhals power plant:
