A new public opinion poll has found that the Swedish population continues to be strongly supportive of the use of nuclear power as an energy source.

The representative poll was conducted between 22nd and 24th April by the Swedish polling organisation TEMO. It surveyed the attitudes of 1021 Swedes, over 16 years of age, towards the continued use of nuclear power and its further development as an energy source. The new poll comes after a similar poll was carried out last year, which also showed strong support for the nuclear option.

A total of 50% thought that it was "acceptable" to continue with the use of nuclear power - as long as reactor units continued to meet safety standards -while 19% said that the existing nuclear units should be replaced once they reach the end of their operating lifetimes. Of the remainder, 12% thought that there should be an increase in the use of nuclear energy, with nuclear new-build projects carried out "if necessary" - compared to 17% who said some nuclear units should close as soon as possible, and others should close gradually. The remainder expressed no opinion.

Asked whether the fact that nuclear energy produces no CO2 emissions would be an important factor when considering future energy options, 48% said it was a very important factor, while 38% said it was quite important - compared to 8% who said it was not very important, 4% who said it was not important at all, and the remainder did not know.

In response to the question of which energy sources should replace nuclear power, wind was the most popular choice (49%), followed by hydro (25%), and solar (22%).

A direct question concerning the possibility of introducing down-blended military-origin nuclear fuel for use in Swedish commercial nuclear power reactors was also asked. The respondents replied: "very good idea" (37%), "quite good" (18%), "not good" (11%), "not good at all" (22%), and "don't know" (12%).

With reference to last winter's electricity shortages and increased electricity prices in Sweden, those polled were asked whether Sweden should, faced with possible future electricity shortages, keep nuclear "at present levels". Of the respondents, 44% said "absolutely", while 33% said yes "probably" - compared to 12% who thought that it should not be developed, and 9% who were "absolutely against" the idea, with the remaining 2% expressing no opinion.

Asked whether nuclear power should be further developed, 41% of those polled said "absolutely", while 38% said "yes, probably". Of the remainder, 14% thought it was not a good idea, compared to 5% who were strongly against the idea, while the others did not know.

The latest poll comes against the background of an ongoing debate over whether to proceed with the politically-inspired closure of Barsebäck-2. In March, the Swedish government proposed a new set of measures to the country's Riksdag (parliament) over the future of the unit, after admitting that conditions necessary for enforcing its closure before the end of this year 'cannot be met'.

The Riksdag is expected to deliver its conclusions on 11th June. @