Ågesta underground nuclear power station

Vidjavägen 17, 123 52 Farsta, Sweden

The nuclear power station Ågesta was the first Swedish commercial nuclear power plant. Construction started in 1957 and ended in 1962, operations began in 1964 and continued until 1974. The station primarily provided district heating (68 MW) for the Stockholm suburb Farsta, as well as a small amount of electricity, 12 MW. It is widely assumed that the underground reactors had military purposes, being able to produce plutonium.

The Ågesta reactor, with 10 MW, was much smaller than the later Swedish reactor types. The reactor was part of a project called "the Swedish line" (Svenska Linjen), an international initiative to use natural uranium (not enriched) for fuel in commercial power plants. The shutdown of the plant was mostly a result of low oil prices and poor economics.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to visit, but some structures are visible from the outside. The discussions are ongoing about making the reactor an industrial heritage site, but it seems not probable due to high contamination of the area around the reactor core.

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