Localization of new reactors

The plan's answer to the need for more electricity is state investment in renewable energy, not expanded nuclear power, and long-term environmental considerations shall be prioritised in the weighing against other interests. Not permitting reactors at new locations restricts expansion and thereby lies closer to the plan's line; the plan also ensures that energy expansion shall benefit the municipality and local residents. The plan speaks to the committee's reasoning about how production shall increase quickly.

• state investments in renewable energydecisive»därför behöver staten gå in med satsningar på förnybar energi« (2022 manifesto ↗)“therefore the state needs to make investments in renewable energy”
• environmental considerations prioritised»de långsiktiga miljöhänsynen måste vara överordnade« (party programme ↗)“long-term environmental considerations must be prioritised”
• local benefit from energy expansion»Vindkraften ska gynna både kommun och boende i närområdet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Wind power shall benefit both the municipality and residents in the local area.”
• renewable energy»satsningar på förnyelsebar energi.« (party programme ↗)“investments in renewable energy.”

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The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that electricity production be expanded rapidly and of all kinds, that bureaucratic barriers be torn down and states that there are no sacred cows in energy issues. Keeping the limitation to existing nuclear power sites restricts expansion options and therefore conflicts with these commitments. The party programme's line on renewables instead of nuclear power is a counterweight but weighs less than the election manifesto.

• rapid expansion of electricity productiondecisive»Vi behöver bygga ut elproduktionen för att få mer billig el, snabbt, inte minst i södra Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We need to expand electricity production to get cheaper electricity, fast, especially in southern Sweden.”
• openness to all energy sources»Vi ser positivt på de initiativ som nu tas för att undersöka potentialen framåt i samtliga energislag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We view positively the initiatives being taken to explore the potential going forward in all energy sources.”
• faster permission processes»Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Slow permission processes must be speeded up.”
• transformation of the energy system»Vårt energisystem måste ställas om.« (party programme ↗)“Our energy system must be transformed.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan opposes building any new reactors at all and instead wants to expand solar and wind power, which are described as the cheapest and fastest ways to increase energy production. A preserved ban on new reactors in places other than existing ones limits expansion and thus is on the plan's side, even though the plan does not take a position on the siting question as such. Municipalities' influence over siting is also strengthened by the decentralist perspective.

• no new reactorsdecisive»byggandet av nya reaktorer i Sverige, eller« (party programme ↗)“building new reactors in Sweden, or”
• renewables fastest to build»Solenergi och vindkraft är idag de överlägset billigaste, snabbaste och säkraste sätten att bygga ut vår energiproduktion.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Solar and wind power are today by far the cheapest, fastest and safest ways to expand our energy production.”
• nuclear power's costs and risks»Kärnkraften tar minst 15 år att bygga, kräver hundratals miljarder av staten i investeringar och har enorma säkerhetsrisker.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Nuclear power takes at least 15 years to build, requires hundreds of billions from the state in investments and has enormous safety risks.”
• local influence over siting»Beslut bör tas så nära medborgarna som möjligt.« (party programme ↗)“Decisions should be made as close to citizens as possible.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's energy vision is a completely renewable society without nuclear power, which argues against opening new locations in the country for nuclear reactors. The plan also requires that the green transition has local anchoring and that decisions are made as close to those affected as possible, which supports keeping the location restriction and municipal influence. The plan therefore supports the counter-proposal's requirements in substance.

• society without nuclear powerdecisive»Sverige har både möjlighet och skyldighet att inom mindre än en generation bli ett samhälle med hundra procent förnybar energi, helt fritt från fossil energi, där Centerpartiets vision är ett samhälle utan kärnkraft.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has both the opportunity and the duty to become a society with one hundred percent renewable energy within less than a generation, completely free from fossil energy, where the Centre Party's vision is a society without nuclear power.”
• local anchoring required»Den gröna omställningen kräver lokal förankring.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The green transition requires local anchoring.”
• decisions close to those affected»beslut i första hand ska fattas av människor själva, eller så nära den enskilda människan som möjligt« (party programme ↗)“decisions in the first instance must be made by people themselves, or as close to the individual as possible”
• renewable transition»Omställningen till ett helt förnybart samhälle är ett projekt som kräver samhällets fulla engagemang.« (party programme ↗)“The transition to a completely renewable society is a project that requires society's full engagement.”

The plan explicitly says that more new reactors shall be enabled in more places and that the regulatory frameworks shall be modernized. The counter-proposal's demand that the site limitation to existing nuclear power plants be retained thus directly conflicts with the plan's wording. The plan furthermore ties expansion to electricity demand doubling and cheap and reliable electricity being available across the entire country.

• new reactors in more placesdecisive»I stället vill vi möjliggöra fler nya reaktorer på fler ställen, möjliggöra återstart av Ringhals 1 och 2, se till att statliga lånegarantier omfattar kärnkraften, modernisera regelverken och ge kärnkraften betalt för att den alltid finns tillgänglig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Instead we want to enable more new reactors in more places, enable restart of Ringhals 1 and 2, ensure that state loan guarantees cover nuclear power, modernize the regulatory frameworks and ensure nuclear power is paid to always be available.”
• no phase-out»Då kan vi inte avveckla kärnkraften.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Then we cannot phase out nuclear power.”
• more electricity across the entire country»Ska vi få ner elpriserna krävs att vi bygger inte bara kärnkraft utan också mer sol- och vindkraft i hela landet, investerar i kraftsystemet och satsar på energilagring.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If we are to lower electricity prices, we need not only nuclear power but also more solar and wind power across the entire country, invest in the power system and prioritize energy storage.”
• nuclear power for the climate»Kärnkraften behövs för klimatets skull och för att minska världens utsläpp.« (party programme ↗)“Nuclear power is needed for the climate and to reduce global emissions.”

The election manifesto requires that nuclear power be expanded with new reactors and given long-term conditions to develop, which argues against keeping a limitation that locks new reactors to existing locations. The plan also requires assured energy supply with fixed rules of the game. That the plan values local democracy applies explicitly to wind power's design and weighs less than the expansion commitment.

• expansion with new reactorsdecisive»Satsa på kärnkraften med långsiktiga villkor att utvecklas. Förläng befintliga reaktorers drift och bygg ut med nya reaktorer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in nuclear power with long-term conditions to develop. Extend existing reactors' operation and build out with new reactors.”
• assured energy supply»Sveriges energiförsörjning ska tryggas genom en långsiktig energipolitik med fasta spelregler« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's energy supply shall be assured through a long-term energy policy with fixed rules of the game”
• respect for local democracy»Bygg ut vindkraften men med respekt för den lokala demokratin« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Build out wind power but with respect for local democracy”
• secured electricity supply»Strävan ska vara att åstadkomma ett system som minimerar miljöbelastningen och säkerställer tillgången« (party programme ↗)“The aim should be to achieve a system that minimizes environmental impact and ensures access”

The plan explicitly requires abolishing the ban on building reactors at other locations than at existing nuclear power plants, and wants to see many new smaller reactors. The counter-proposal wants to keep the location restriction, which is directly opposite to the plan's commitment. The plan also wants to shorten permit processes, not restrict where expansion can take place.

• remove location restrictiondecisive»Avskaffa förbudet mot att bygga reaktorer på andra platser än vid de befintliga kärnkraftverken« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the ban on building reactors at other locations than at existing nuclear power plants”
• many small reactors(2022 manifesto)
• remove reactor cap»Ta bort förbudet mot att ha fler än tio kärnkraftsreaktorer i drift« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove the ban on having more than ten nuclear power reactors in operation”
• shorter permit processes»Investera i det svenska elnätet och korta tillståndsprocesserna för elnätsutbyggnad« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in the Swedish electricity grid and shorten permit processes for grid expansion”

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The counter-proposal wants to retain the limitation to existing nuclear sites. The plan demands instead that the regulations preventing new construction and making modern small reactors impossible be changed and that a roadmap for SMRs be drawn up, which presupposes more possible locations. The plan also wants to make licensing processes faster and more predictable, not preserve a site limitation.

• remove obstacles to new constructiondecisive»Det finns idag regelverk i behov av förändring som förhindrar nybyggnation och omöjliggör moderna mindre reaktorer i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There are currently regulations in need of change that prevent new construction and make modern small reactors impossible in Sweden.”
• roadmap for SMRs»Skapa förutsättningar för ny kärnkraft i Sverige och en färdplan för byggandet av SMR-reaktorer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new nuclear power in Sweden and a roadmap for the building of SMR reactors”
• active nuclear power policy»Kärnkraften är här central och politiken måste aktivt verka för att skapa förutsättningar för ny modern och miljövänlig kärnkraft i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Nuclear power is central here and the policy must actively work to create conditions for new modern and environmentally friendly nuclear power in Sweden.”
• faster licensing processes»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in licensing processes for mining, electricity grid expansion and industry”