Already when Vattenfall began sketching out new reactors on the Värö peninsula, it was clear that it would be difficult to avoid encroaching on the Biskopshagen nature reserve. The reserve is, among other things, established for recreational areas for the general public.
The regulations we see will be difficult to fulfill. So, therefore, the procedure will be that we apply to have the entire nature reserve abolished, says Desirée Comstedt, head of new nuclear power at Vattenfall.
Largest impact during construction
The impact will be greatest during the actual construction period. The hope is that parts of the area can become a nature reserve again later.
A small part of the nature reserve will also become a future industrial area. But the larger part of the intrusion into the nature reserve is during the construction phase, she says.
Abolishing a nature reserve is very unusual, and according to Henrik Martinsson, environmental director at the County Administrative Board in Halland, it has only happened a few times in the last ten years.
According to the law, exceptional reasons are required to do so. Previously, it has been about building railways and European highways, and then it has only been smaller parts of an area, he says.
His assessment is that it will take several months before the County Administrative Board has an answer.
If someone then wants to appeal the decision, it is done to the government.
Otherwise, the plans are proceeding roughly as planned. Next in line is to submit documents ahead of the consultation that Vattenfall will have with local authorities and the public during the late winter. Additionally, the number of suppliers of the reactors themselves will be scaled down further in the near future, according to Comstedt.
Good conditions
Recently, an investigation presented a risk-sharing model with the state that Vattenfall believes must be in place. It is now being fully evaluated, but the management thinks it is largely good.
Vattenfall has not yet decided on the type of reactors to be built, conventional large ones, or smaller, so-called SMR.
For us, the technical decision is not the big one, but it's more about the commercial offer that the different suppliers have, says Comstedt.
Whether it will be possible to take a groundbreaking step before the current government's term of office ends, as the government promised early on, is highly uncertain. There are still many puzzle pieces left, including environmental permits, which often take time.
In a written comment, Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari states:
”It's fantastic that Vattenfall is now taking another concrete step in its work on building new reactors at Ringhals. The climate transition requires extensive electrification, which is not possible without more electricity production that is independent of weather and wind. There, nuclear power is the only climate-friendly alternative that can deliver on the climate transition's large electricity needs.”
