Powering Sustainable Development with SMRs - A qualitative study examining the potential effects of Small Modular Reactor deployment in Southern Sweden

Abstract: Europe has been immensely impacted by the recent turmoil in the continent and an energy crisis has emerged. Energy prices have soared over a period of two years and the price of energy is still at elevated levels throughout Europe and a high dependency on fossil fuels for energy production has become inevitable. The Swedish energy system, one of the most renewable systems in a historical context has recently experienced the same faith as the rest of Europe by spillover effects of energy prices due to an interconnected international energy system. The rise of questions regarding the stability of the Swedish energy system has also seen an upswing since the start of the energy crisis, which has sparked a debate whether Sweden should once again expand their nuclear energy production fleet to alleviate the symptoms of an unhealthy transmission system from a holistic perspective. In collaboration with Uniper Sweden, the following research aims to investigate the sustainability implications of an SMR introduction in the energy area SE4 in Sweden, while also having relevant innovation theories in mind. This study shows that SMRs are a result of eco-innovation and innovation diffusion, and the result of implementing SMRs into SE4 from a sustainability perspective are deemed to be positive. The literature review focuses on innovation theories that are relevant for energy producing technologies and their specific attributes. Eco-innovation and innovation diffusion are concepts that pertain relevance for identifying contributions to adoption of the SMR technology. Sustainability was also thoroughly examined in the literature review in order to gain a deeper understanding of what the term actually means and how it applies in todays rising concerns. Three different dimensions of sustainability have been identified within the literature, and they are ecologic, economic and social. These dimensions were found to be interrelated and important to jointly understand how they impact one another. This study is conducted through a qualitative research method and combines both primary data in the form of interviews and secondary data in the form of industry reports, news and scientific literature, which is thoroughly presented in the empirical chapter. In order to validate that the identified effects were relevant for our purpose and scope but also to enhance the objectivity, we used three different criterions to make sure that the data corresponded with our study in general and that the answers were valid from a scientific point of view. The analysis structure is closely connected with grounded theory that suggest an iterative method for comparing data points. A framework that shows the identified effects have been constructed based on the iterative analysis and is presented in the conclusion. Effects such as increased energy security, increased green energy production, improved incentives for investments and overall contribution to diffusion of innovation has been identified.