The Vattenfall's board of directors on Wednesday announced they would invest in independent core cooling for the Forsmark power plant's three nuclear reactors. The company said the decision was a direct response to the government's phase out of the nuclear power tax in Sweden, which was agreed to by parliament this week.
While Vattenfall's board has agreed to the investment, the next step is a green-light decision by Forsmarks Kraftgupp AB's board of directors, which is responsible for initiating the implementation, Vatttenfall's board explained.
The security upgrades are a requirement mandated by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority to enable continued operations after 2020. But owners of Swedish nuclear power plants have been forced into economic predicament with the nuclear tax that made up about a third of the production costs of nuclear power in Sweden. That tax is to be phased out by 2019, a decision widely applauded by the industry.
“Following the decision to phase out the nuclear capacity tax as announced in the energy agreement, Vattenfall's board of directors today decided on necessary safety investments,” said Torbjorn Wahlborg, head of Vattenfall Generation and chariman of Forsmarks Kraftgupp AB.
The announcement also said that a corresponding decision on Ringhals reactors 3 and 4 is planned for the beginning of next year.