Sweden - Nuclear energy is "out", wind energy is "in"

"Nuclear power has run out of steam." This conclusion was declared by Sweden’s prime minister Göran Persson's earlier this month when the government announced the decommissioning of the Barsebäck 2 nuclear plant next year. A survey has now shown that the Swedish people want to keep to nuclear power, but apparently the government is not out of step with the people, it's the people who are out of step with the government. The survey, conducted by polling organisation Sifo for SVT's 'Aktuellt' news programme, showed that 64% of the 1,000 interviewed felt that Sweden should continue to use the nuclear power plants currently in use. 16% thought nuclear power should be expanded and 16% thought it should be phased out. A closer look at the political affiliations of those interviewed made interesting reading. Social Democrat voters were those most in favour of maintaining the status quo (71% support), whilst only 13% of them agreed with the government's policy of phasing out.

One of the winners in this change of policy seems to be wind power. On Tuesday, the Swedish Energy Agency published a list of 49 locations as potential sites for wind farms. The locations are mostly on the coast and around Lake Vänern. Halland heads the list with nine sites, followed by Skåne with seven. Possible sites in mountainous regions such as Norrbotten and Dalarna have been rejected for environmental reasons and because not enough is known about the wind patterns there. If all the proposed sites are accepted and go into production, they will produce approximately 5TWh (tera watts per hour) of electricity, or 3.5% of electricity produced this year. The long term goal is to produce 10TWh with wind power.

However, a number of battles have to be fought before the farms become a reality. Måns Hagberg, county architect in Västra Götaland where three farms are proposed, told DN: "Old rubbish tips and industrial areas are usually accepted. Otherwise people like to complain about wind power. The Energy Agency's list will be well and truly mangled." But the director of the Energy Agency, Thomas Korsfeldt, sees that wind power's stock is rising and now competes with interests such as defence and the environment for designated areas: "Now wind power is on an equal footing with other national interests and will be compared with them. That's essential if parliament's aim of increasing production of renewable energy is going to be met."