Sweden shuts down nuclear plant reactor

Sweden shut down its Barsebaeck 2 nuclear reactor at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, the second reactor to be taken out of service in the country since 1999, Radio Sweden reported on Wednesday.

Sweden plans to phase out nuclear power, which still accounts for nearly half of the Scandinavian country's energy supply, over the next 30 or so years.

The first reactor at Barsebaeck was shut down in 1999. Barsebaeck 2 accounts for 3.75 percent of Sweden's total electricity production.

The country voted in a non-binding referendum in 1980 to phase out its 12 nuclear reactors by 2010, but that target was abandoned in 1997 after officials acknowledged that there would not be sufficient alternative energy sources to replace the nuclear output.

In October 2004, the minority Social Democratic government clinched a deal on the Barsebaeck 2 reactor in southwestern Sweden with the formerly agrarian Center Party and the Left Party.

Under that deal, the government will promote the use of wind power, biofuels, solar energy and hydro power to replace the lost nuclear energy, as consumers will be obliged to buy a pre- determined amount of electricity produced from these so-called " clean" sources.

The Danish government hailed the shutting down as the result of decades of political pressure on Sweden.

"The closing of Barsebaeck has been something we have placed a great emphasis on because of its position close to Denmark," said Danish Minister of Defence Soeren Gade. 'I'm pleased that the matter is finally to be concluded.'

The placement of the nuclear plant in southern Sweden, just 20 kilometers away from Copenhagen, in 1974 caused a long-standing diplomatic crisis between the brother nations, and earned Barsebaeck the label of being "the world's worst situated power plant".

Barsebaeck's employees expressed their regrets that they needed to shut the reactor down.

"It's sad that the plant isn't allowed to operate, even if it pays off economically,' said Hans Andersen, before going home from his work in the plant for the last time.

Source: Xinhua