Monday 30 December 2019

Sweden shuts down nuclear reactor

After more than 40 years in operation nuclear reactor number two at the Ringhals power station in south west Sweden has been shut down.

It was operated by the Swedish state-owned energy group Vattenfall and German utility company, Uniper.

The pressurized water reactor was provided by Westinghouse Electric in 1970 and started commercial operation in 1975.

Vattenfall and Uniper will also shut down the Ringhals 1 reactor at the end of 2020, while Ringhals 3 and Ringhals 4 are due to keep running until the 2040s.

Work to manage radioactive waste at Ringhals 1 is due to get under way immediately, and the Ringhals 1 and 2 reactors will be torn down by the end of 2022. The entire decommissioning process is expected to take at least eight years.

Sweden now has a total of seven reactors at three nuclear plants across the country, which generate about 40% of electricity in Sweden.