Stockholm, December 9th, 2023

It was clear. Polling on Nuclear Energy had wavered up and down since the original nuclear scares in the seventies - it had dipped in the eighties, especially after Chernobyl, then risen, then dipped slightly after Fukushima. Yet it remained above 80% and even above 90% on occasion through the recent years, especially after the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine had skyrocketed Swedish domestic security fears. Combined with the general plans for decarbonization, the answer seemed obvious.

The morning of December 9th was abuzz with activity at the Rosenbad. Representatives from Vattenfall and Uniper SE arrived by car to a personal meeting with the Energiminister, Ebba Busch. The sun was setting by the time the meeting wrapped. Politics watchers in Sweden had been guessing at the significance on Twitter all day, and were rewarded by a brief press conference Busch called for 6pm.

"Today, we have set concrete plans for the future of Energy Security in Sweden, and the furthering of our coal to achieve a fossil fuel-free energy environment in Sweden. To that end, in an agreement with Mr. Nordström of Vattenfall and Uniper SE, we shall reopen units 1 and 2 of Ringhals Power Plant with reactors of modern design. In addition, preliminary plans for the construction of six new reactors by 2030 and 10 new reactors by 2035 will be submitted by my ministry. I call on the other agencies of government to match our commitment to energy security, passing the much-needed nuclear power credit guarantees that will enable further investment in our nuclear power sector."

These announcements come only days after the moratorium on reactor restarts and the ban on new reactor construction was reversed by a controversial late-night decision by the Committee on Environment and Agriculture. This array of policies, fulfilling a key pillar of the Tidö Agreement, sets Sweden on a path towards greater nuclear power proliferation.

To be continued...