The new legislation will allow construction of new reactors at existing plants from Jan 1, 2011 to replace the 10 ageing reactors that generate 40 percent of the Sweden's electricity
– By Mark McFadden –
Sweden's parliament has voided a 30-year-old ban on building new nuclear reactors after a debate weighing the country's need for low-carbon energy sources against environmental concerns over atomic energy. Opinion polls now suggest most Swedes favor keeping nuclear plants.
The new legislation will allow construction of new reactors at existing plants from Jan 1, 2011 to replace the 10 ageing reactors that generate 40 percent of the Sweden's electricity.
In 1980, Sweden voted in a referendum to phase out existing reactors by 2010. In 1997, however, Sweden scrapped plans for a phase-out of atomic energy, citing the need for cost-effective energy to service its large manufacturing and processing industries.
The vote for the new plants was passed with a majority of two with 174 voting for the bill and 172 against. Three legislators were absent. During a sometimes heated parliamentary session, environment minister Andreas Carlgren said the bill was a "unique chance" to leave decades of acrimonious political debate behind and stressed the need to ensure the future of Swedish industry.
Efforts to combat climate change have led to a revival of interest in nuclear power with European countries such as Britain, Italy and Finland planning to bring new reactors on line.
"A few months ago, the climate threat dominated the environmental debate. Now it is the oil disaster in the Mexican Gulf that is sparking the world's interest and horror," he said. "Both are really two sides of the same coin, namely, we must leave the dependency on oil and fossil energy behind."