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It's a long article but worth reading. Sweden have seen the light.

Swedish science paper New technology writes:

Here is the new elected government's energy policy -
investing in nuclear power

The four parties M, KD, SD and L agree on energy policy. They want to invest heavily in nuclear power and a restart of Ringhals 1 and 2 will be investigated.

The four parties held a press conference on Friday and presented the Tidö Agreement, with names from the castle where the deliberations were held. The agreement represents the parties' joint agreement for the mandate period.

As expected, the agreement means that M, KD and L will form a government. SD will not be in government, but will be part of the cooperation in the Riksdag.

There is a strong focus on nuclear power.

- Sweden will manage the climate transition. We must fulfil our part of the Paris Agreement, but without destroying businesses and Swedish families' economies. The goal is electrification, and the way to get there is nuclear power," said KD party leader Ebba Busch during the press conference.

Nuclear power
Vattenfall should immediately start planning for new nuclear power at Ringhals and other suitable sites, the parties write in the Tidö Agreement.

As expected, the parties also want to implement legislative changes to promote new nuclear power. The prohibition in the Environmental Code for new reactors at other locations than today should be removed, as well as the prohibition of more than ten reactors in operation at the same time.

Necessary regulations will also be developed urgently to create the conditions for small and modular reactors to be built and used in Sweden.

In addition, the parties want to introduce a fast track for new nuclear power in the licensing process. A special rule will be added to the Environmental Code to the effect that matters relating to new nuclear power will be dealt with as a matter of high priority. The Radiation Safety Authority will be given the task of proposing how the licensing process for new nuclear power can also be shortened in other respects.

The parties also want to reduce the application fee for companies wishing to start new nuclear reactors in Sweden. The parties also want a mandate to develop a fast track for accepting type approvals for reactors, systems and components from countries "comparable to Sweden", they write in the Tidö Agreement. They also want to work for type approval at European level.

The four parties want to introduce special state credit guarantees for nuclear power, amounting to SEK 400 billion. This is fully in line with what the Moderates proposed before the elections.

New rules will also be introduced to prevent politicians from arbitrarily shutting down nuclear power plants, the Tidö Agreement states. If the state forces a closure, owners will be entitled to compensation.

The four parties also plan to investigate what would be required for a restart of Ringhals 1 and 2. The investigation should be carried out without preconditions and as a matter of urgency, the Tidö Agreement states. Continued operation of the two reactors is something that KD has previously pushed hard, but which Vattenfall has so far been cold to. "There are no financial or practical conditions to continue operating these reactors after 2020," Vattenfall wrote on its website in 2019.

A restart of Ringhals 1 and 2 would also likely be quite costly given the new requirement for independent core cooling.

The four parties want to change the energy policy goal, which is currently formulated so that Sweden will have 100 percent renewable electricity production by 2040, to 100 percent fossil-free electricity production instead.

Electricity system
They also plan to give Svenska Kraftnät responsibility for security of supply in the electricity system, both in the long and short term. Planning for increased electricity use should be based on an electricity demand of at least 300 TWh in 2045, the parties write in the Tidö Agreement.

The parties want to set up a new inquiry into the shape of the electricity market. The aim is to come up with proposals that provide a level playing field for the power sectors and that support services are remunerated. In the first instance, compensation should be paid by those producers who cannot provide the same support services.

Nuclear power owners have previously expressed their wish to be paid for flywheel mass and local voltage maintenance, something that former Social Democratic Energy Minister Anders Ygeman was also in favour of.

The four parties M, SD, KD and L seem to be dissatisfied with the governance of both Vattenfall and Swedish Power Grid. They now plan to investigate how Svenska Kraftnät can be reformed to improve the division of responsibilities, political transparency and governance. In addition, they want to introduce a new governance of Vattenfall through a new group of ministers that will steer Vattenfall towards the expansion of plannable and fossil-free electricity production.

In order to create better conditions for cogeneration, M, KD, L and SD also plan to review the waste incineration tax and the tax on bio-oil.

Hydropower
As regards hydropower, which is currently undergoing an extensive review of its environmental permits, the parties want to pause the process until it is clear what consequences the review will have for electricity production. A new regulatory framework for the review will be developed to ensure that the supply of electricity is given a high priority and that small-scale operators do not incur unreasonable costs.

Wind power
It also looks as if Svenska Kraftnäts' work on expanding the grid in the sea will come to a halt. This was a mission given by the current government to facilitate the expansion of offshore wind power. "The plan to allow the electricity grid collective to subsidise offshore wind power's electricity grid connections is stopped," write M, KD, SD and L in the Tidö Agreement. Anyone who connects to the grid will be responsible for the costs of the connection. This is a measure that the Liberals in particular pushed hard for before the election.

Regarding onshore wind power, the parties want to send an additional assignment to the ongoing investigation into how municipalities can be given stronger incentives to say yes to wind power. The parties also want the inquiry to clearly propose how operators should compensate municipalities for wind power development.

Solar power
For solar energy, the parties think that the requirement for building permits for integrated solar cells should be reviewed. Energy research should also receive funding to develop methods for recycling used solar cells.

Energy efficiency
The parties want to introduce temporary requirements to reduce electricity consumption in public services that are not critical to society. A national electricity savings target will be introduced for public authorities.

High-cost protection
High-cost protection for electricity was promised by the parties before the elections. It will be introduced as soon as possible, with retroactive payment, for affected households and businesses, the parties write in the Tidö Agreement.

Electricity cable to foreign countries
The expansion of export electricity cables, such as the Hansa Power bridge, should be paused until the price differences between electricity areas have been significantly reduced, the parties say.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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