Many of us have noted that Sweden had the most sensible response to the covid pandemic, which focused on protecting vulnerable populations and not relying on public gathering restrictions that ended up being useless and destructive.
The Scandinavian country may now be leading Europe and the rest of the West to a better approach to energy as well. The nation’s parliament has just given the green light to push forward with plans to build a new nuclear plant after voting 40 years ago to phase out atomic power.
Changing the target to “100% fossil-free” electricity, from “100% renewable” is key to the government’s plan to meet an expected doubling of electricity demand to around 300 TwH by 2040 and reach net zero emissions by 2045.”This creates the conditions for nuclear power,” Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in parliament. “We need more electricity production, we need clean electricity and we need a stable energy system.”Sweden’s parties agreed a deal in 2016 that new reactors could be built at existing sites. However, without subsidies, it has been seen as too expensive. The new right-of-centre coalition says new reactors are essential to power the shift to a fossil-free economy and has promised generous loan guarantees.
I would argue that fossil fuels aren’t the danger that is being presented by climate cultists and their media minions. However, nuclear power is exceedingly more efficient and reliable as an energy source than wind or solar.
Observers said the decision implicitly acknowledges the low quality of unstable wind and solar. It shows a general collapse of confidence in the renewable energy agenda pioneered in the Nordic countries.British lobby group Net Zero Watch, which describes the net zero roadmaps of Western nations as ‘utopian and unsustainable,’ welcomed the move.“The net zero plans envisioned by the International Energy Agency (IEA) are dangerously expensive and will result in painful reductions in living standards for all but the richest,” Net Zero Watch stated. In that regard, Sweden came to the only logical conclusion, it said.
The move may also indicate the climate cult dominoes are beginning to fall, as European investment firms have also been backing away from ESG (Environmental-Social-Governance) policies.
It will be interesting to see how Sweden’s nuclear power industry expands and evolves at this point and if it will be a new model for energy resource development.
Nuclear represented around 30% of Sweden’s electricity production in 2022.Opinions on nuclear energy differ across Europe. Following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, Germany chose to phase-out nuclear, with the country’s final three nuclear reactors closing earlier his year.France has remained staunchly pro-nuclear, causing delays to this month’s EU renewables bill due to its failure to accommodate nuclear generation under renewables targets. France currently generates around 70% of its electricity from nuclear.Vattenfall, Sweden’s state-owned utility, plans to build at least two small modular reactors and extend the lifetime of the country’s existing nuclear reactors.
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