Water power's conditions

The plan requires ambitious environmental goals followed up with strict legislation and deliberate work for rich ecosystems, and new projects should be compared in environmental consequences across their entire life cycle. The counter-proposal's demand to weigh other social benefits such as infrastructure, recreation and tourism in hydropower's environmental assessment points toward weaker environmental requirements. The plan therefore speaks against what the counter-proposal calls for.

• stringent environmental goalsdecisive»miljömål som följs upp med skarp lagstiftning och praktiskt arbete.« (party programme ↗)“environmental goals followed up with strict legislation and practical work.”
• restore nature and ecosystems»Sverige behöver också ett medvetet och heltäckande arbete med att« (party programme ↗)“Sweden also needs deliberate and comprehensive work with”
• protect biological diversity»Vi måste lösa klimatkrisen och skydda den biologiska mångfalden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We must solve the climate crisis and protect biological diversity”
• weigh environmental consequences in energy projects»behöver jämföras i miljökonsekvenser och säkerhet över hela sin« (party programme ↗)“need to be compared in environmental consequences and safety across their entire”

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 wishes to protect hydropower and accelerate slow permit processes for stable and reliable electricity production. The counter-proposal's demands for an inventory of natural migration barriers, consideration for other societal benefits and nationally coordinated prioritisation reduce precisely the legal uncertainty and cost that the permits have entailed. The plan's commitment to protecting water environments at the same time sets a limit on how far the facilitations can go.

• protected hydropowerdecisive»Vi behöver också värna vattenkraften och se till att solpanelerna blir fler« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We also need to protect hydropower and ensure that solar panels become more numerous”
• faster permit processes»Riv de byråkratiska hindren för mer el. Långsamma tillståndsprocesser ska snabbas på.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove the bureaucratic barriers to more electricity. Slow permit processes shall be accelerated.”
• stable fossil-free electricity production»Stabil, tillförlitlig och fossilfri elproduktion som på lång sikt är förnybar.« (party programme ↗)“Stable, reliable and fossil-free electricity production that in the long run is renewable.”
• protected water environments»Värn av biologisk mångfald och Sveriges värdefulla natur och vattenmiljöer.« (party programme ↗)“Protection of biological diversity and Sweden's valuable nature and water environments.”

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 considers hydropower to be fully developed and wants facilities that do not meet current environmental requirements to be demolished or environmentally adapted to secure migration routes for fish. To weigh in infrastructure, recreation and preparedness as a counterweight to environmental requirements and to inventory natural migration obstacles points to lower environmental ambitions, which the plan explicitly rejects when the transition is used as an excuse to loosen environmental legislation. The counter-proposal's direction thereby goes against the plan.

• free migration routes for fishdecisive»rivs ut eller miljöanpassas för att säkra öppna vandringsvägar för fisk« (party programme ↗)“be demolished or environmentally adapted to secure open migration routes for fish”
• hydropower is fully developed»Vi anser att vattenkraften är färdigutbyggd« (party programme ↗)“We consider hydropower to be fully developed”
• environmental legislation must not be loosened»Den gröna omställningen ska inte användas som ursäkt« (party programme ↗)“The green transition shall not be used as an excuse”
• tightened environmental protection»Lagstiftningen mot spridning av föroreningar i miljön måste skärpas.« (party programme ↗)“Legislation against pollution spreading in the environment must be tightened.”

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 environmental assessment be reformed so that permission processes become faster and a project's climate benefit carries more weight, and that more of the value from water power remains local. The counter-proposal's demand for a more legally secure, cheaper process where other social utilities are weighed in and early consultation is prioritised follows from that. The plan's commitment to fresh lakes and watercourses is a reservation rather than an obstacle.

• reformerad miljöprövningdecisive»Klimatet kan inte vänta på dyra och krångliga regelverk. 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 ↗)“Climate cannot wait for expensive and complicated regulations. 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 assessment.”
• lokal nytta av vattenkraften»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, water power and mines — shall remain local.”
• förutsägbara spelregler»Ekonomin ska ha givna och förutsägbara spelregler« (party programme ↗)“The economy shall have given and predictable rules of the game”
• friska vattendrag»Rädda Sveriges sjöar, vattendrag och hav.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Save Sweden's lakes, watercourses and seas.”

The plan wants hydropower to be developed through efficiency improvements and to meet today's environmental regulations, and facilities shall be designed so that damage to migrating fish is minimized. The counter-proposal's requirements for inventory of natural migration barriers, early consultation and nationally coordinated prioritization is a way to achieve precisely this with fair procedures. However, the plan takes no position on the design of environmental assessments, so the assessment is uncertain.

• efficiency improvements with environmental requirementsdecisive»Vattenkraften kan utvecklas genom effektivisering, inte genom ökad exploatering. Denna modernisering ska också innebära krav på att kraftverken lever upp till dagens miljöregler.« (party programme ↗)“Hydropower can be developed through efficiency improvements, not through increased exploitation. This modernization should also mean that power stations meet today's environmental regulations.”
• protection for migrating fish»Anläggningar för vattenkraft ska vara utformade så att skadorna för vandrande fisk minimeras.« (party programme ↗)“Hydropower facilities shall be designed so that damage to migrating fish is minimized.”
• fair procedures»Lagar och regler ska slå vakt om äganderätt, konkurrens på lika villkor, rättssäkerhet och att enskilda människor har likvärdiga och goda möjligheter att nå sina livsmål.« (party programme ↗)“Laws and regulations shall protect property rights, fair competition, legal security and that individuals have equal and good opportunities to achieve their life goals.”
• protected water courses»De fyra nationalälvarna ska fredas från utbyggnad, liksom övriga i lag skyddade vattendrag samt bäckar, åar och andra mindre vattendrag.« (party programme ↗)“The four national rivers shall be protected from development, as shall other water courses protected by law as well as streams, rivers and other smaller water courses.”

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 explicitly promises to protect hydropower, both large-scale and small-scale, and the party programme establishes that base power including hydropower shall be protected. The counter-proposal's requirements to take into account other social benefits, inventory natural migration barriers and invest in early consultation aim to make assessments less costly and more legally secure. The plan also requires that environmental policy be flexible according to local conditions.

• protect hydropowerdecisive»Värna vattenkraften, både den storskaliga och småskaliga.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Protect hydropower, both large-scale and small-scale.”
• protect base power»För att undvika effektbrist behöver anslutning av intermittenta, förnybara kraftslag göras i balanserad proportion till den existerande baskraften som framförallt utgörs av kärnkraft, vattenkraft och kraftvärme. Denna baskraft ska värnas.« (party programme ↗)“To avoid capacity shortages, connection of intermittent, renewable power sources should be made in balanced proportion to the existing base power which is mainly made up of nuclear power, hydropower and combined heat and power. This base power shall be protected.”
• flexible environmental policy»Miljöpolitiken måste vara så flexibel att varje land och region kan anpassa åtgärder efter sina unika förhållanden.« (party programme ↗)“Environmental policy must be so flexible that each country and region can adapt measures to their unique conditions.”
• long-term and predictable rules»Det är viktigt att de regler staten ställer upp för företagen är långsiktiga.« (party programme ↗)“It is important that the rules the state sets for businesses are long-term.”

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 builds energy policy on predictable and stable electricity production, wants to procure energy production that strengthens stability and shortens approval processes. The counter-proposal's demand to inventory natural migration obstacles, weigh in other societal benefits and invest in early consultation aims precisely to make water power testing less legally uncertain and costly. The plan also wants as a main rule to implement EU rules at minimum level, which matches criticism of over-implementation.

• predictable electricity productiondecisive»Upphandla kraftproduktion som stärker stabiliteten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Procure energy production that strengthens stability”
• EU rules at minimum level»som huvudregel ska EU-direktiv genomföras på miniminivå« (2022 manifesto ↗)“as a main rule EU directives shall be implemented at minimum level”
• shorter approval processes»Investera i det svenska elnätet och korta tillståndsprocesserna för elnätsutbyggnad« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in the Swedish electricity network and shorten approval processes for network expansion”
• property rights for operators»rätt att använda sitt ägande efter eget huvud ska vara vägledande.« (party programme ↗)“the right to use one's property according to one's own judgment shall be guiding.”

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 more efficient and more predictable licensing processes for electricity production and industry and warns that Swedish special requirements rule out industries without environmental benefit. The counter-proposal's criticism of legally uncertain and costly environmental assessment, and its requirements for inventory of natural migration barriers, broadened public utility assessment and nationally coordinated prioritisation, are in line with this. The plan therefore supports the counter-proposal's cause.

• more efficient licensing processesdecisive»Effektivisera och öka förutsägbarheten i tillståndsprocesserna för gruvnäring, elnätsutbyggnad och industri« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make licensing processes more efficient and increase predictability for mining, electricity network expansion and industry”
• predictable processes»En förutsättning för att lönsamma investeringar ska kunna göras är en långsiktig politik som tar hänsyn till industrins behov av en förutsägbar process.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A prerequisite for profitable investments to be made is a long-term policy that takes account of industry's need for a predictable process.”
• hydropower as foundation»Under överskådlig framtid kommer kärnkraften och vattenkraften att utgöra« (party programme ↗)“In the foreseeable future, nuclear power and hydropower will constitute”
• no Swedish special requirements»Strängare miljö- och utsläppskrav i Sverige jämfört med i omvärlden riskerar ofta att slå ut svenska näringar och få globalt kontraproduktiva resultat när det kommer till de mål kraven syftar till att uppnå.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stricter environmental and emission requirements in Sweden compared to the world risk often ruling out Swedish industries and producing globally counterproductive results when it comes to the goals the requirements aim to achieve.”

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.