VÄSTERÅS, Sweden, June 13, 2016 - Westinghouse Electric Company, a leading voice for the nuclear industry in Europe and worldwide, welcomes the Sweden’s parliamentary agreement on Friday, June 10, to phase out the country’s nuclear capacity tax on its existing reactors and allow new reactors to be built to replace plants as they retire.
“Westinghouse strongly supports any policy decision that recognizes the important role that nuclear energy has been performing, and is projected to play, in supplying European consumers and businesses with low-carbon, reliable and affordable electricity,” said Mark Marano, Westinghouse president – Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Regions. “The framework agreement recognizes the importance of nuclear energy in meeting Sweden’s long-term energy and environment goals. Nuclear energy provides 27 percent of Europe’s primary energy production, without greenhouse gas emissions, and is critical to ensuring Europe’s transition to an independent, low-carbon and competitive energy mix.”
Under the framework, the phasing out of Sweden’s nuclear tax will create more competitive conditions for the nuclear industry and allow for much needed investments to ensure the long-term operation of Sweden’s existing nuclear fleet and continued supply of nuclear fuel. The agreement also opens up the possibility to build new reactors in Sweden.
“Westinghouse calls on other countries to follow Sweden’s example and ensure a level playing field between the different sources of electricity production,” continued Marano. “Market distorting energy polices including production taxes, discriminatory access to the grid and technology-specific subsidies need to be phased-out to allow all low-carbon technologies, including nuclear energy, to compete equally on their merits, ensuring stable low-carbon supply to support COP21 environmental goals at the lowest comparative cost.”
Nuclear energy continues to play an important role in ensuring that electricity remains affordable for households and industry. As one of the most economically predictable, stable and competitive sources of electricity in Europe, nuclear energy provide low variable costs. The European nuclear energy sector supports an estimated 800,000 jobs and contributes an estimated 70 billion Euros to the European economy each year.
To learn more about Westinghouse Electric Company and our vision to be the first to innovate the next technology, practice or solution that helps our customers generate safer, cleaner, more reliable energy visit www.westinghousenuclear.com.