Sweden open to power cable project if Germany reforms, minister says

https://www.ft.com/content/3c5bc925-0563-4df1-a0ad-13d98791291e

by hyakumanben

16 comments

  3. Y’know what. All other EU-nation should just break the interconnectors to Germany until they get their shit together. I think it is time to let Germany realise that their stupid choices have consiquences. We all told them about the problems of relying on Putin’s gas. Remember how they brute forced natural gas, and tried to force out nuclear in the Sustainability taxonomy? And a compromise was reached where now Natural gas and Nuclear power are both equally sustainable and green?

    Keep digging that lignite, keep burning that gas, and don’t try to change anything. Least of all your stance on nuclear.

    The trajectory was clear already in 2008, and then 2014, then when Ukraine’s war started. You had a chance and EU as a whole had a chance to start developing our own nuclear fuel and recycling programs. And no… We don’t need to make bigger and bigger unique one-off projects and reactors. No… I’m not even talking about SMRs. We could have just started to make smaller already proven reactors that had been updated. Or hell! Just fabricate those naval reactors in use today! Just litter them around and about.

    But nah! The future of energy can be found digging undergroup for things which most likely will never ever reform on this planet, even in hundreds of millions of ears, because they originate from when the conditions on this planet were different.

  4. She is not talking about Germany getting its shit together in energy production. Everyone knows that this is never going to happen, the Atomausstieg fucked Germany for good. Instead what she means is:

    > But, she added, “the Swedish government would be prepared to move” on the project if Germany split its internal electricity market into bidding zones that would increase the efficiency of its networks and lower prices.

    Because of course Germany is also completely dysfunctional in terms of transmitting energy internally. They will not split their market into different price zones, like everyone else does, because it would imply in Bavaria paying for their mistakes of blocking construction of transmission lines and power plants.

    That this also raises prices in Sweden is collateral damage. Which Germany couldn’t care less about.

  5. **EXECUTIVE SUMMARY**

    Sweden is prepared to move forward with the Hansa PowerBridge, a 700-megawatt power cable connecting Sweden and Germany, provided that Germany reforms its electricity market. Sweden’s energy minister Ebba Busch emphasised that the project will remain on hold until Germany restructures its market into bidding zones. This change is essential to prevent excessive reliance on Sweden’s lower-cost electricity, which drives up prices for Swedish consumers.

    The discussion around electricity prices within the European Union has intensified as member states increase their reliance on renewable energy sources. Fluctuations in weather-dependent power generation have led to volatile prices, creating challenges for energy investments. Busch highlighted Sweden’s struggle with extreme price variations, citing instances where prices spiked dramatically within short timeframes.

    Concerns regarding energy interconnections have also arisen in Norway and Greece. Due to significant price surges, Norwegian politicians are re-evaluating their grid links with Germany, Denmark, and the UK. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for increased transparency and oversight in Europe’s energy markets, suggesting the establishment of a European regulator to stabilise the system.

    Busch criticised Germany’s energy policies, particularly its decision to phase out nuclear power, which has resulted in higher prices and grid instability. In contrast, Sweden has reversed its anti-nuclear stance and now advocates for nuclear energy at the European level. This division has heightened tensions between pro-nuclear countries like Sweden and France and anti-nuclear Germany.

    Sweden’s energy infrastructure also faces internal challenges, including regional price disparities from insufficient transmission links between the hydropower-rich north and the industrial south. Business leaders in Sweden warn of significant risks to the country’s industry if energy policies do not improve. Busch urged Europe to prioritise technological investments, particularly in nuclear power, to ensure stability and reduce political disagreements.

  6. **TLDR SUMMARY**

    Sweden is willing to approve the Hansa PowerBridge power cable project with Germany, but only if Berlin reforms its electricity market to reduce its dependence on cheaper Swedish power. Energy Minister Ebba Busch criticised Germany’s decision to shut down its nuclear plants due to price volatility and grid instability across Europe. As a strong advocate for nuclear energy, Sweden is facing its energy challenges, particularly concerning regional price disparities. Norway and Greece have also expressed concerns about Europe’s interconnected energy system, calling for reforms and greater oversight to stabilise prices amid the increasing reliance on renewables.

  7. While germany needs to fix a lot of BS about their old energy network and this is hopefully a wake up call, all those talks about nuclear energy is not going anywhere.

    German opposition parties like the CDU have long asked for a proper survey and the summary of said survey looks gloomy for nuclear energy in Germany.

    None of the nuclear plants phased out/in phase out are in any condition to continue operation or resume it. They are very old and way over their intended time frame already.

    Building new plants would not only take atleast a decade, but also not show any contribution to the energy network until 2050sth or even 2070 (tbh I forgot the exact number) and cost tremendous amounts of money.

    In short: it is fine if you think it was stupid from germany to phase out their existing old nuclear plants and never build new ones, i agree it was a dumb decision, but we are way in too deep in this hole now to get back out. Its done and we need to live with it.

  9. > the Swedish government would be prepared to move” on the project if Germany split its internal electricity market into bidding zones that would increase the efficiency of its networks and lower prices.

    For context, bidding zones are part of a regulation that all EU countries (except for the baltics due to awaiting results on the bidding zone investigation iirc) are expected to implement. So its pretty reasonable to expect Germany to follow EU laws and regulations like the rest of us.

    *(never thought i would say reasonable in relation to something Ebba Bush says, but here we are)*

  11. We shut down two working reactors in 2019 and 2020 because electricity prices were too low and nuclear taxes too high. The current government parties fought to save them but ultimately lost by a single vote in parliament, they were the opposition back then.

  14. Hell really has frozen over when I’m inclined to agree with Ebba Busch.. good lord this is one very weird day

  16. Germany shutting down nuclear power is one of the top10 dumbest european moves of the first quarter of the century.

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