Sweden has confirmed that Barsebäck 2 is to close, in response to Danish calls for the country to stick to its plans to phase out nuclear power. After meeting with Svend Auken, Denmark’s environment and energy minister, Sweden’s industry minister Bjorn Rosengren said: “Our ambition is to close Barsebäck by 2003 at the latest.” Rosengren said the lost power had to be replaced by renewable energy rather than coal or oil if Sweden was to meet its greenhouse gas emmissions targets. He added that the closure may be delayed if there were risks of electricity shortages during a cold winter. “Sweden is a cold country and I will not risk that it will be without electricity on a cold winter’s day,” he said.
Unit 1 of the two-reactor plant was closed down in November 1999.
