Vattenfall mull swapping Barseback n-plant for gas
Date: 07-Dec-01
Country: NORWAY
Author: Erik Brynhildsbakken
"It is difficult to see any proper alternatives to natural gas once Barseback is shut down," Vattenfall information chief Karl Erik Olsson told Reuters.
"The only realistic alternative that has been up for discussion is natural gas."
Sweden, aiming to phase out nuclear power and replace it with renewable sources such as wind and biofuel, has hinted it might delay the planned shut down of the Barseback reactor in 2003 as it has failed to come up with alternative power sources.
The 600-megawatt Barseback facility produces some 3-4 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity a year, and Olsson said a natural gas plant could make use of the infrastructure at the site and be hooked on to the grid without much extra costs.
Sweden's total annual production is about 145 TWh.
Olsson said natural gas, despite its emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), was the most environmentally friendly alternative as an increase in imports would likely come from even more polluting coal-based generation.
"One could make a considerable increase in imports, but the power at hand is Danish, German and Polish coal power," he said.
Sweden decided in 1997 to phase out its nuclear power industry on the condition that electricity prices remained stable and that lost power would be replaced by renewables.
One reactor at Barseback has already been shut down according to plan in 1999, but the government said this autumn that the remaining reactor might continue beyond its 2003 deadline as it saw no other options.
SWEDEN IN KYOTO SQUEEZE
Sweden aims under the Kyoto climate pact to to cut its CO2 emissions by at least two percent from 1990 levels by 2010, but a giant natural gas plant at Barseback would make that a difficult target to reach as nuclear generation is CO2-free.
"One has to remember that natural gas according to the Kyoto deal is dubious because one would go from zero emissions (at Barseback) to at least some emissions," Olsson said. "That might not be very popular."
Barseback is situated at Sweden's southern tip, only some 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) away from the Danish capital Copenhagen.
The Danes, which claim they can see Barseback across the Oresund strait on a clear day, regard the plant as a safety risk and has repeatedly called for it to be shut down.
Barseback was formerly owned by Swedish rival Sydkraft , but Vattenfall took over the plant as part of a deal between Sydkraft, Vattenfall and the state when the first reactor was taken off line.