Sweden

Sweden, which has been contemplating the role of its 10 nuclear reactors in its future power mix, said in June it will phase out a tax on nuclear power over the next two years and replace aging plants with new ones. The agreement by the Social Democrats, the Moderate Party, the Green Party, the Centre […]

The news coming out of several countries in advance of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) casts an ominous pall over the future of the coal industry. The End of Coal Generation in Alberta Fresh on the heels of last week’s announcement by UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd that she plans to […]

E.ON in late June announced that it wants to shutter its Oskarshamn 2 reactor (Figure 1) in southeastern Sweden because it is unprofitable. The announcement is the latest in a string of early nuclear plant retirements from around the world. 1. Early retirement. The 638-MW Oskarshamn 2 nuclear reactor, built in 1974, is at risk […]

From Sweden to China, the world’s nuclear sector saw an eventful spring. Sweden to Shutter Two Ringhals Units Early. On the same day that E.ON—formerly one of Europe’s most formidable power companies—announced it would spin off its nuclear assets owing to Germany’s energy transition, its Swedish partner, Vattenfall, which is 70% co-owner of the 1975-built […]

NRC Advances Design Certification of Westinghouse SMR, South Korea’s APR1400. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Feb. 27 approved Westinghouse Electric Co.’s testing approach for its small modular reactor (SMR) design—a “significant” step that the Toshiba Corp. company said will reduce the time ultimately needed to obtain design certification. By granting a safety evaluation report […]

Sweden is reconsidering phasing out nuclear power in favor of a 100% renewables power mix. The country’s 10 operating nuclear power plants produce about 40% of the Scandinavian country’s power. The remainder mostly comes from hydropower, depending on the season. The fourth-largest country in the European Union, Sweden’s electricity consumption has been gradually rising. Sweden […]