Sweden’s nuclear ban overruled

• 13 years ago (2010-06-18)
• David Flin

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The Swedish parliament has voted by the narrow margin of 174-172 to overturn a 30-year-old ban on the construction of new nuclear reactors and to allow the replacement of the country’s existing fleet of 10 reactors.

In 1980, Sweden held a referendum in which voters decided that the nuclear reactors – which provide around half of Sweden’s electricity – should not be replaced when they reached the end of their operational life. The vote by the Riksdag, however, overturns the referendum, and will allow for the replacement of the existing reactors, which are due to begin decommissioning from 2020.

Andreas Carlgren, Sweden’s Environment Minister, said that nuclear power was essential to secure stable supplies of carbon-free energy. He said: “With this bill, we can leave decades of political strife behind us.”

Energy intensive Nordic industries have long been campaigning in favour of overturning the ban, citing concerns over future power supplies. Sweden has promised to make heavy investments into renewable energy, but the business sector argues that this will not be sufficient to replace existing nuclear capacity.

Sweden will be holding a general election in September, and the current opposition has said that if elected, it will reverse the legislation overturning the referendum result. Recent polls suggest that the election will be close, with no clear leader at present.