Sweden narrowly votes for nuclear power

The legislation squeaked through the Riksdag by 174 votes to 172, with the Social Democrats and the Green and Left parties amongst those opposing the move.

Green Party spokeswoman Maria Wetterstrand told MPs that the new plants "could mean Sweden will be making itself dependent on nuclear power for 100 more years, and there will be 100,000 years of consequences for future generations who will have to take care of the waste."

Her view was opposed by But IF Metall union chair Stefan Lofvenm who claimed that future energy needs will "require hydro, nuclear, wind, wave and solar - we will need them all."

The current right-wing government insisted last year that existing nuclear power stations must be replaced by new ones, even though Swedes voted to scale back on atomic power in a 1980 referendum.