The Tidö agreement between the government parties M, KD and L and the support party Sweden Democrats outlines cooperation and major investments in new nuclear power. However, a point in the agreement suggests investigating the restart of the reactors Ringhals 1 and 2, which were closed in 2020 and 2019, respectively. While the government and SD have agreed that Ringhals 2 should be forgotten, SD criticizes the government parties for focusing only on problems regarding Ringhals 1. While the Liberals have attempted to find opportunities to restart Ringhals 1, Johan Pehrson, the Labor Market Minister, admits that it looks difficult. It is done and a restart would require building a new reactor. The SD emphasizes the importance of restarting Ringhals 1, which, they believe, could be feasible in 6-7 years.
However, opinions differ, and a source from one of the governing parties does not sound optimistic. While it is technically possible to restart Ringhals 1, getting a new permit and changing the law would be complicated, very expensive, and risky. Furthermore, the project would use personnel and resources needed for new nuclear power, and it is uncertain how long the reactor could remain operational after restarting. An internal memorandum from SD recommends dropping the idea of restarting Ringhals 2, as conditions, costs, and other factors are not in favor of it.
In a recent debate article, the SD demanded the government correct the historical mistakes of previous governments and stop dismantling Ringhals 1, which Vattenfall and Uniper, Ringhal’s owners, maintain is too risky, costly, and may not even be possible to restart. The clause in the Tidö agreement insists on carrying out a thorough investigation to restart Ringhals 1 and 2 and any other power plants that supplement Sweden’s electricity supply.
The Tidö agreement regulates the cooperation between the government parties M, KD and L and the support party Sweden Democrats. The agreement contains major investments in new nuclear power, but also a point about the reactors Ringhals 1 and 2, which were closed in 2020 and 2019 respectively. According to the point, a restart must be investigated.
The government and SD have now agreed, even if a joint decision has not been made about it yet, that Ringhals 2 is just to be forgotten. But the SD criticizes the government parties for only looking for problems regarding Ringhals 1.
– It looks difficult, says the leader of the Liberals, Labor Market Minister Johan Pehrson, about Ringhals 1.
Is done
He adds that the Liberals have nevertheless really tried to find opportunities to get it started. Restarting the 2, however, is done, and in practice would mean that you had to build a new reactor, according to Pehrson. He fully trusts Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch (KD) when it comes to deciding whether it is economically reasonable to restart Ringhals 1.
– Sweden needs everything we can get in place. A restart of Ringhals 1 should not be seen as opting out of new power production, but rather parallel processes, says Mattias Bäckström Johansson, Member of Parliament and former energy policy spokesperson for SD.
He emphasizes that it is an important issue for SD.
– It is not technically impossible, it could be in place before an offshore wind farm, for example, claims Bäckström Johansson, meaning that a restart of Ringhals 1 could be possible in 6-7 years.
No quick fix
A source in one of the governing parties does not sound as optimistic. It is probably technically possible to restart Ringhals 1, but it is not certain that it will succeed and it may take longer than 6-7 years. It is complicated to get a new permit for restart (first also a change in the law is needed), the project would be very expensive and risk taking personnel and resources needed for new nuclear power. And it is uncertain how long it could go after restarting.
In an internal memorandum, which TT has seen, SD gives its view of how the talks with the government about the prospects for a restart are going.
The SD official who wrote the memorandum recommends the party to drop the idea of a restart of Ringhals 2 – condition, costs and other factors all speak against it. There is a consensus on that with the government.
KD reactor bromine?
But as far as Ringhals 1 is concerned, opinions differ – SD describes it as that since the change of government, KD has been pushing to scrap the idea of a restart. The Liberals have been constructive, but the interest of the governing parties basically disappeared completely, according to the SD memorandum, since Ringhal’s owners Vattenfall and Uniper visited and expressed their reluctance.
“The process and the investigation have been characterized by simply looking for obstacles and problems,” the SD memorandum claims.
In a recent debate article in Dagens industri, SD party leader Jimmie Åkesson and Jessica Stegrud, SD representative in the nutrition committee, demanded a restart of Ringhals 1.
Stop demolition
“The government must urgently correct the historical mistakes of previous governments and stop the dismantling of the reactor and work with all available means for its restart,” they both wrote.
But soon after, Vattenfall’s head of electricity production in the Nordics, Torbjörn Wahlborg, responded:
“Our firm view is that it is very risky, costly and may not even be possible to restart any of the shutdown reactors at Ringhals.”
In the governing parties’ agreement with the support party the Sweden Democrats, the clause on the investigation of Ringhals 1 and 2, which were both closed a few years ago, reads:
“A thorough investigation of what would be required to restart Ringhals 1 and 2 should be carried out unconditionally and quickly, as well as what the system benefit would be. Investigate what would be required to restart other power plants, above all cogeneration plants, which may be needed for complementary purposes in order to secure Sweden’s electricity supply”