In Sweden in 2022 the right wing coalition which won promised new nuclear would appear if only it was allowed. Quickly they abandoned large scale nuclear in favor of SMR, PowerPoints reactors are always cheap.
Four years later, we are at:
- The state takes essentially all financial risk, even borrowing the money because Vattenfall refuses to put it on its own balance sheet.
- The state provides a huge direct taxpayer handout.
- The state takes the construction risk. Cost overruns means taxpayers put in more.
- The state subsidizes the entire final waste repository.
- The state subsidizes roughly the entire accident liability.
- The state guarantees the electricity price for 40 years.
That rather proves the point about what happens when new nuclear meets actual financing conditions.
And right wing coaltion just lost the latest election two weeks ago. Seems like we didn't get any new nuclear after all.