2023-11-29 12:32:37
Sweden has announced its desire to invest massively in nuclear energy, in order to succeed in its energy transition and meet changing electricity demand. A strategy which echoes France’s proposal to call for the development of nuclear power during COP28.
France’s declaration, which will be unveiled on December 2, has already received the support of five countries: United Kingdom, United States, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, without forgetting Sweden, particularly involved in the relaunch of nuclear power on a European and global scale.
Sweden: an example to follow in terms of decarbonization
It’s not a secret. Sweden is an example in terms of decarbonization. It is even the OECD country which displays the best performance!
In Sweden, the construction sector, usually one of the main sources of emissions[1] of CO2, is also far ahead of its neighbors, since CO2 emissions from heating methods have decreased by 90% between 1990 and 2019. This feat, for a country close to the polar circle, is linked to a Swedish particularity: the widespread construction of heat networks in cities, which are partly powered by the combustion of forest waste, the incineration of waste, but also by heat pumps or waste heat.
It should also be remembered that Sweden undertook to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings in the 1960s and that it sought to reduce its dependence on oil following the oil crises of the 1970s. Sweden then decided to focus on nuclear, renewable energies and coal, until the introduction of a carbon tax in 1991, the cost of which has been increasing for 30 years, which penalizes both coal and oil.
What is the Swedish electricity mix made of?
The electric mix[2] Sweden is mainly composed of nuclear (43%) and hydroelectricity (31%). Sweden’s history with nuclear power is therefore not new, since the country currently operates six nuclear reactors, spread across two power plants.
The mix is also completed by cogeneration (9%) and wind power, an energy source which has grown significantly in the country (16% of the mix) in recent years.
Since the 1970s, Swedish electricity production has relied heavily on nuclear power. Hydropower has always represented a significant share, and wind power has been growing since the 2010s. Source: French Embassy in Sweden, 2022
This low-carbon and competitive electricity has enabled Sweden:
to become the largest European exporter of electricity in 2022, with 20% of production exported; to attract and develop numerous electro-intensive industries, particularly in relation to decarbonization objectives (gigafactories, electrolysers, etc.).
A victim of its energy success, Sweden is forecasting a doubling of the country’s electricity consumption by 2040!
If Sweden wants to be able to “keep up” while maintaining low-carbon electricity production, it therefore has no choice but to support the development of nuclear power.
Announcements expected at COP28
Feasibility studies have already been launched by Vattenfall, the 100% state-owned public energy company, for the construction of two modular reactors (SMR) in Ringhals, with the aim of starting production around 2035.
But according to government estimates, Sweden will need much more: the equivalent of ten new reactors by 2045! And as for all countries[3] who are embarking on projects of this magnitude, the questions of costs, deadlines and available skills will prove crucial.
The declaration initiated by France and which will be unveiled on December 2 at COP28 plans to call for a tripling of nuclear production capacities by 2050, which would require significant investment efforts. This call to develop nuclear power will therefore also be a call to development banks and the World Bank to financially support nuclear power.
[1] According to a 2020 report from the High Council for the Climate, the construction sector produces more than a third of CO2 emissions in the European Union, more than a quarter in France!
[2] 2021 figures
[3] In particular France, Finland and the United Kingdom
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