Barsebäck nuclear power plant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Barsebäck nuclear power plant is a closed Swedish nuclear power plant situated in Barsebäck, Kävlinge Municipality, Skåne. Located just 20 kilometers from the Danish capital, Copenhagen, the Danish government pressed for its closure during its entire lifetime. As a result of the Swedish nuclear power phase-out, its two reactors have now been closed. The first reactor, Barsebäck 1, was closed November 30, 1999, and the second, Barsebäck 2, ceased operations May 31, 2005.

Land for the plant was bought in 1965 by the energy company Sydkraft, and the first reactor was ordered from Asea-Atom in 1969. The first nuclear reaction took place January 18, 1975. The second reactor was started in 1977. Following a decision in the Parliament in 1997, the Government of Sweden decided that the first reactor was to close July 1, 1998, and the second July 1, 2001. Due to the operator's appeal of the decision, the closure was postponed. The destruction of the facility will await the construction of a storage facility, scheduled to be ready by 2020.

At the time of closure, both reactors had a capacity of 600 megawatts. The plant was operated by Barsebäck Kraft AB, a subsidiary of Ringhals AB, owned by Vattenfall and Sydkraft.