Grid in Sweden cannot take the strain of new nuclear power

Plans to build new nuclear power plants in Sweden are under threat, because the electricity system cannot handle more power, reports Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Opposition to nuclear power means that Sweden’s next generation of power stations must be built on the same sites as the existing plants.

But a report from the state-run National Grid agency says that only one nuclear site, at Ringhals, has an electricity grid that can handle more power.

At the Oskarshamn site there is no room for new power lines, and Dagens Nyheter says that Forsmark is already having problems with the planned rise in electricity production.

A boost in energy flowing into the local grid would be an unavoidable part of building new nuclear plants, according to experts including Inge Pierre at the energy company association Svensk Energi “You don’t build small reactors, like Oskarshamn 1 any more. it’s not profitable.”

And the owner of the Oskarshamn power plant is Eon Kärnkraft. Their CEO, Ingemar Engkvist, has also seen the National Grid report. He agrees that they will not be building another small reactor – and that his company has not decided at all, whether to plan for new nuclear power stations in Sweden.

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