Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant

Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant

Ringhals NPP
Location of Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden
Country Sweden
Coordinates 57°15′35″N 12°6′39″E / 57.25972°N 12.11083°E / 57.25972; 12.11083Coordinates: 57°15′35″N 12°6′39″E / 57.25972°N 12.11083°E / 57.25972; 12.11083
Construction began 1969
Commission date R1: January 1, 1976
R2: May 1, 1975
R3: September 9, 1981
R4: November 21, 1983
Operator(s) Ringhals AB
(Vattenfall 70.4%,
E.ON 29.6%)
Power generation
Units operational R1: 855 MW
R2: 866 MW
R3: 1051 MW
R4: 1120 MW
Average generation 27,021 GWh

Ringhals is a Swedish nuclear power plant with 4 reactors, one boiling water reactor (R1) and three pressurized water reactors (R2, R3 and R4). It is situated on the Värö Peninsula (Swedish: Väröhalvön) in Varberg Municipality approximately 60 km south of Gothenburg. With a total power rating of 3560 MWe, it is the largest power plant in Sweden and generates 24 TWh of electricity a year, the equivalent of 20% of the electrical power usage of Sweden. It is owned 70% by Vattenfall and 30% by E.ON.

Following a number of security breaches and incidents since 2005, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority decided in 2009 to put Ringhals under increased surveillance.[1] In 2012 a small amount of explosive was found underneath a truck at the plant.[2]

In October 2012, 20 anti-nuclear Greenpeace activists scaled the outer perimeter fence, and there was also an incursion at Forsmark nuclear power plant. Greenpeace said that its non-violent actions were "intended to protest against the continuing operation of these reactors, which it argues were shown to be unsafe in European stress tests."[3]

In April 2015, Vattenfall announced "Ringhals 1 and 2 may be closed down between the years 2018 and 2020 instead of, as previously announced, around 2025", due to the declining profitability of these units. Ringhals 3 and 4 are still expected to continue in service until the 2040s.[4]

In January 2016, Vattenfall announced that all its Swedish nuclear power plants, including the newer reactors, were operating at a loss due to low electricity prices and Sweden's nuclear output tax. It warned that it may be forced to shut all the nuclear plants down, and argued that the nuclear output tax should be scrapped.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Pressmeddelande: SSM beslutar om särskilda villkor för drift vid Ringhals" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  2. ↑ "Explosives found at Sweden nuclear site in Ringhals". BBC. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "The antis attack!". Nuclear Engineering International. 5 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "Sweden to speed up nuclear reactors closure". thelocal.se. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Vattenfall seeks to return reactors to profitability". World Nuclear News. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.


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