As expected, the Riksdag voted in favour of the Government Bill "Ny kärnkraft i Sverige – ett första steg" [New nuclear power in Sweden – a first step], which has resulted in legislative changes that entered into force on 1 January this year, including the abolition of previous limits on the number of reactors and the ban on new nuclear power plants in places other than the current locations. Furthermore, at the end of 2023, the Government appointed a new inquiry to provide a wider basis for enabling new nuclear power to be built and operated in Sweden: "Ny kärnkraft i Sverige – ett andra steg" [New nuclear power in Sweden – a second step]. One of the aims of this inquiry is to make licensing more efficient and adapt the nuclear waste programme. The Government has also appointed a national nuclear power coordinator in order to promote expansion. Possible further legislative changes are being considered in order to facilitate new nuclear power in Sweden.
In October last year, we reported on the contents of the Government Bill entitled New nuclear power in Sweden – a first step, which mainly proposed that the statutory limit on the number of reactors in simultaneous operation and the ban on building new nuclear power reactors anywhere other than at existing plants should be abolished (see also our article from 11/10/23). These changes entered into force on 1 January this year after the Riksdag, as expected, voted in favour of the proposal.
In November 2023, the Government appointed an inquiry (New nuclear power in Sweden – a second step) to investigate (i) how the licensing of nuclear power reactors in accordance with both the Nuclear Activities Act (1984:3) and the Environmental Code can be made more efficient and the application fee made more suitable, (ii) how the existing nuclear waste programme for management of nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel can be adapted for new reactors, and (iii) how the regulations for contingency planning and planning zones should be adjusted. The Committee Directive appears to lack an express assignment for the investigator to look at the conditions for different types of energy in terms of their possible location and how the municipal veto can be made more equal (cf. point 1 of our article from October 2023), but hopefully the appointed inquiry can present appropriate proposals that enable further steps to be taken towards facilitating investment in new nuclear power in Sweden.
Furthermore, on 4 January this year, the Government decided to appoint a national coordinator to support the Government in its work to promote the expansion of new nuclear power. Carl Berglöf has therefore been appointed as National Nuclear Power Coordinator and his duties will include (i) supporting the Government Offices in monitoring and analysing how the work on the expansion of nuclear power is progressing and identifying the need for supplementary measures in order to drive the work forward, and (ii) being a point of contact for stakeholders and operators in the nuclear power sector and collaborating with them in order to increase the pace at which new nuclear power is established.
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