The owners of the Forsmark and Ringhals nuclear power stations in Sweden have announced that they are planning to extend the operating lifetime of the stations’ reactors from 60 to 80 years.

Extending the operating life of the five reactors at the two stations by 20 years could provide more than 800 TWh of fossil-free electricity, roughly equivalent to today’s Swedish electricity consumption for six years, Vattenfall said.

Vattenfall owns and operates Formsark and Ringhals through its local subsidiaries Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB and Ringhals AB.

Vattenfall said operating the two stations for 80 years would enable further fossil-free electricity into the 2060s, which favours the industry transition as well as the availability of efficient electricity supply to Swedish consumers.