Hydropower

The party programme makes long-term environmental considerations overriding other interests and requires that measures are immediately put in place against the depletion of biological diversity. The election manifesto establishes that the climate crisis and biological diversity must be handled now and that the protection of coastal and water-adjacent areas is an important part of this. The counter-proposal's requirement for continued environmental assessment of hydropower, preserved pristine rivers and minimum discharge even for large facilities thus aligns with the plan.

• environmental considerations overridingdecisive»de långsiktiga miljöhänsynen måste vara överordnade« (party programme ↗)“long-term environmental considerations must be overriding”
• protect biological diversity»Vi måste lösa klimatkrisen och skydda den biologiska mångfalden – omställningen går alldeles för sakta.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must solve the climate crisis and protect biological diversity – the transition is going far too slowly.”
• stop species depletion»till denna utarmning av den biologiska mångfalden« (party programme ↗)“to this depletion of biological diversity”
• protection of coastal areas»Skyddet av skogs- och strandområden är en viktig del för att värna den svenska allemansrätten och den biologiska mångfalden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The protection of forest and coastal areas is an important part of protecting Swedish everyman's right and biological diversity.”

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 election manifesto's decisive commitment is to rapidly expand electricity production for cheaper electricity and to explicitly protect hydropower, whilst removing bureaucratic obstacles and speeding up slow authorization processes. The counter-proposal's requirement for continued environmental assessment and minimum discharge even in large hydroelectric facilities pulls in the opposite direction from this production line. The party programme's protection of biological diversity is a counterweight but weighs less than the election manifesto.

• protect hydropowerdecisive»Vi behöver också värna vattenkraften och se till att solpanelerna blir fler« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We also need to protect hydropower and see to it that solar panels become more”
• rapid electricity expansion»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, quickly, not least in southern Sweden.”
• faster authorization processes»Riv de byråkratiska hindren för mer el. Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Break the bureaucratic barriers for more electricity. Slow authorization processes shall be speeded up.”
• protect biological diversity»biologiska mångfalden måste skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“biological diversity must be protected.”

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 party programme states that hydropower is fully developed and the last untouched rivers and flowing waters should be protected, while increased environmental requirements should secure fish migration possibilities at existing facilities. The counter-proposal's demand for continued environmental assessment, preserved untouched watercourses and environmental adaptation even of large hydropower plants are precisely these commitments. Clean water is also stated as a prerequisite for biological diversity.

• protect untouched riversdecisive»Vattenkraften är enligt vårt sätt att se det färdigutbyggd och därför ska de sista orörda älvarna och strömmande vattnen skyddas.« (party programme ↗)“Hydropower is, in our view, fully developed and therefore the last untouched rivers and flowing waters should be protected.”
• environmentally adapt existing hydropower»främja ombyggnad och effektivisering av befintliga vattenkraftverk samtidigt som ökade miljökrav säkrar fiskens möjlighet till vandring.« (party programme ↗)“promote renovation and efficiency improvements of existing hydropower plants while increased environmental requirements secure fish's opportunity to migrate.”
• clean water for diversity»Rent vatten är en förutsättning för att kunna bevara den biologiska mångfalden.« (party programme ↗)“Clean water is a prerequisite for preserving biological diversity.”
• environmental considerations before exploitation»Miljöhänsyn ska väga tyngre än kortsiktiga exploateringsintressen.« (party programme ↗)“Environmental considerations should weigh more heavily than short-term exploitation interests.”

The plan's decisive commitment is to double the production of emissions-free electricity and to halve licensing times, with greater weight for climate benefit in environmental review. Requirements for minimum discharge in large hydroelectric plants and continued reassessment would reduce planneable fossil-free electricity and extend processes. The plan simultaneously wants to save lakes and watercourses, but electricity supply weighs heavier in the manifesto.

• doubled emissions-free electricitydecisive»Vi vill fördubbla produktionen av utsläppsfri el, och rusta och bygga ut elnätet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to double the production of emissions-free electricity, and upgrade and expand the electricity grid.”
• climate benefit weighs heavier»Det är dags att halvera tiden det tar att få tillstånd för gröna investeringar och reformera miljöbalken så att ett projekts klimatnytta ges större vikt i miljöprövningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is time to halve the time it takes to get permission for green investments and reform the Environmental Code so that a project's climate benefit is given greater weight in environmental review.”
• local benefit from hydroelectric»Mer av värdet som skapas från naturresurser — exempelvis vindkraft, vattenkraft och gruvor — ska stanna kvar lokalt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More of the value created from natural resources — for example wind power, hydroelectric power and mines — shall stay local.”
• protect watercourses»Rädda Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och hav.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Save Sweden's lakes, watercourses and seas.”

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 party programme explicitly requires that hydropower plants comply with today's environmental regulations, that the national rivers and also streams, rivers and other small watercourses are protected from expansion, and that plants are designed so that damage to migrating fish is minimized. Hydropower shall be developed through efficiency improvement, not increased exploitation. The counter-proposal's demand for continued environmental assessment, preserved untouched watercourses and environmental adaptation with minimum discharge follows directly from these commitments.

• hydropower plants shall follow environmental regulationsdecisive»också innebära krav på att kraftverken lever upp till dagens miljöregler. De fyra nationalälvarna ska fredas« (party programme ↗)“also mean requirements that hydropower plants comply with today's environmental regulations. The four national rivers shall be protected”
• efficiency improvement, not exploitation»Vattenkraften kan utvecklas genom effektivisering, inte genom ökad exploatering.« (party programme ↗)“Hydropower can be developed through efficiency improvement, not through increased exploitation.”
• protect migrating fish»Anläggningar för vattenkraft ska vara utformade så att skadorna för vandrande fisk minimeras.« (party programme ↗)“Hydropower plants shall be designed so that damage to migrating fish is minimized.”
• save seas and waters»Rädda hav och vatten. Våra hav och vatten är i dåligt skick.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Save seas and waters. Our seas and waters are in poor condition.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The election manifesto lays down that hydropower must be preserved, both the large-scale and the small-scale. The counter-proposal, on the other hand, wants to continue environmental assessment and set minimum discharge as the starting point even for large hydropower plants, which hollows out that production. The plan's requirement for secure energy supply with fixed rules also speaks against continued reexaminations, even though the goal of an ecologically sustainable energy system pulls partly in the other direction.

• preserve hydropowerdecisive»Värna vattenkraften, både den storskaliga och småskaliga.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Preserve hydropower, both the large-scale and small-scale.”
• secure energy with fixed rules»Sveriges energiförsörjning ska tryggas genom en långsiktig energipolitik med fasta spelregler« (party programme ↗)“Sweden's energy supply must be secured through a long-term energy policy with fixed rules”
• threatened electricity supply»elförsörjningen sviktar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“the electricity supply fails”
• ecologically sustainable energy system»Målet är ett ekologiskt hållbart energisystem utan« (party programme ↗)“The goal is an ecologically sustainable energy system without”

The plan's energy line is that electricity demand more than doubles by 2045 and that all fossil-free and controllable electricity production must contribute, with procurement of power that strengthens stability and shortened permit processes. To continue environmental review of hydropower and demand minimum discharge even in large plants reduces controllable production and lengthens processes, contrary to the plan's direction. Hydropower is not mentioned explicitly, so the conclusion is derived.

• all fossil-free power shall contributedecisive»Ska vi klara det behövs en elproduktion där alla fossilfria energikällor är med och bidrar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To accomplish it we need electricity production where all fossil-free energy sources contribute.”
• controllable electricity production»Upphandla kraftproduktion som stärker stabiliteten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Procure electricity production that strengthens stability”
• greatly increased electricity need»Fram till 2045 kommer Sveriges elbehov mer än fördubblas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“By 2045 Sweden's electricity demand will more than double.”
• 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”

Worldstate weighed in: Germany closes its three remaining nuclear reactors — Increases the value of Swedish controllable fossil-free production and sharpens the plan's objection to measures that lower hydropower output

The plan's energy policy commitment is plannable, reliable and cheap electricity production and more efficient and more predictable permit processes. Continuing environmental review of hydropower with minimum flow releases even for major facilities would reduce predictable production and increase uncertainty. That national rivers should be protected from further development provides some support for the counter-proposal's protection part, but is not decisive.

• planned electricity productiondecisive»Sverige behöver satsa på planerbar och fossilfri elproduktion.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs to invest in planned and fossil-free electricity production.”
• reliable energy supply»Vår grundläggande inställning är att energipolitiken ska vara inriktad på att säkerställa en långsiktigt konkurrenskraftig och tillförlitlig energiförsörjning, för såväl hushåll som näringsliv.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our basic position is that energy policy should be aimed at ensuring a long-term competitive and reliable energy supply, for both households and businesses.”
• predictable permit processes»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Streamline and increase predictability in permit processes for mining, electricity network expansion and industry”
• protect the national rivers»nationalälvar ska bevaras från vidare vattenkraftsutbyggnad« (party programme ↗)“national rivers should be protected from further hydropower development”