STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish government is seeking parliament's permission to lend up to 220 billion crowns ($23.5 billion) to energy companies willing to build new nuclear reactors, Financial
Sweden Proposes $23.5 Billion Loan for New Nuclear Reactor Projects
Sweden's Nuclear Energy Revival
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish government is seeking parliament's permission to lend up to 220 billion crowns ($23.5 billion) to energy companies willing to build new nuclear reactors, Financial Markets Minister Niklas Wykman said on Friday.
Government's Loan Framework
The country in recent years closed several older reactors and the right-wing government now seeks to revive its nuclear energy industry and build its first new plants in over 40 years to boost the output of fossil-free electricity.
Projected Capacity and Costs
The plan presented on Friday would help fund a capacity of 2,500 MW of nuclear power, the first half of Sweden's aim of building a series of small modular nuclear reactors, in the coming decades.
"It's not a price tag... it is a loan framework that is needed to be able to conduct sharp negotiations," Wykman told a press conference .
Costs could rise further, however, with another 220 billion to be set aside as a reserve in case of unforeseen costs, Wykman said.
($1 = 9.3668 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)
