Nuclear power 'too dangerous' to be used, Swedish minister says

Stockholm (Platts)--2Jun2005

Nuclear power, with its associated handling of spent fuel, is "extremely
dangerous technology" that cannot be used to solve Sweden's greenhouse gas
emissions problems, Environment Minister Lena Sommestad told members of the
Riksdag (parliament) during a debate May 24. Her comments came just a few days
before Barsebaeck-2 was permanently shut by government order, at midnight May
31.

The government is officially committed to a nuclear phase-out, although it has
signaled it will approve operating licenses for reactors at higher power,
after modernization that is beginning. Sommestad did not comment on the uprate
projects during the debate.

In response to a question from Liberal lawmaker Marie Wahlgren, Sommestad also
defended the minority Social Democratic government's emissions reduction and
climate strategy. "I don't think there's any other country in the world which
has such an ambitious climate policy," she said. "There are other countries in
the world which have set targets greater than those in the Kyoto Protocol, but
we have also said that our goal is to reach those targets without carbon sinks
and flexible mechanisms. "Many are watching what Sweden does. That means that
we have a great responsibility to succeed with this challenge."

The Liberals want new nuclear reactors built in Sweden. But Sommestad said, "I
am absolutely convinced that we can manage over the long term" without nuclear
power. She also noted that a Swedish Environment Court recently expressed
concerns about the safety of nuclear power and handling of spent fuel in
reviewing Ringhals' application for operation under Sweden's new environment
law. "The court [said] that nuclear ... is not compatible with a modern,
environmentally friendly society," Sommestad said. The court referred the
Ringhals case to the government, rather than ruling itself. 

But Wahlgren charged that, instead of nuclear being replaced by renewables in
Sweden, "we see very clearly that it is being replaced by gas-fired power and
also Danish and German coal-fired power." Sweden imports electricity from both
countries. 

She added that Sweden might manage to use hydropower generation to replace the
50% of electricity that comes from nuclear, if restrictions on hydro
development on four major rivers were lifted. But she said the Liberals are
opposed to that.

Sommestad countered that Sweden is in a much better position when it comes to
cutting greenhouse gas emissions, even if reactors are taken off line, than
many other countries, because about 50% of its electricity generation comes
from hydro, even given the protected rivers.

This story was originally published in Platts Nucleonics Week
http://nucweek.platts.com

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