Nuclear power threatened according to the industry - the pressure on the government is increasing

Today, the spent nuclear fuel is stored in an intermediate warehouse in Oskarshamn.

There, the waste is waiting for the issue of a final repository to be resolved.

However, the intermediate storage is starting to become full and if the government does not act quickly, Swedish nuclear reactors may be forced to shut down in just a few years.

- On 31 August this year, we must have a message about an expanded intermediate warehouse in Oskarshamn in order to be able to receive fuel according to the existing plan.

If this is not possible, we risk not being able to start up Forsmark 2 after the annual shutdown in May 2024, says Björn Linde, CEO of Vattenfall's operations at Forsmark and Ringhals.

Government plan

The application that the government will now decide on contains several parts.

It is partly about an extended intermediate storage, but also about being allowed to build the final repository where the waste will eventually be stored for 100,000 years.

Following pressure from the industry, the government is now leaving the following information.

- We divide the application into two parts, the intermediate storage separately and the final repository separately, then we would be able to handle this schedule, says Minister of the Environment Per Bolund (MP).

Great dissatisfaction

The government's plan would solve the urgent threat of closure, but the industry is not happy with the message from Per Bolund.

They believe that the entire application must be approved to secure the future of nuclear power and that it is urgent. 

Criticism of the government is also growing from the opposition.

- For me, it is obvious that it is unfortunately the Green Party's averse attitude to nuclear power that spills over to the government and makes it impossible to make the necessary decisions.

It is unfortunate that this will be able to affect the entire Swedish people and industry in a devastating way, says Member of Parliament Mikael Oscarsson (KD).

Is it difficult for you as an environmental artist to make a decision on a final repository?

- No, on the other hand, as Minister of the Environment, I see that I have a great responsibility to make an informed decision that also provides the security that I think the Swedish people deserve. That is, this waste can actually be kept separate from humans and the environment for a hundred thousand years, says Per Bolund (MP).