Editing Vattenfall (section)

==History==
Vattenfall (then called ''Kungliga Vattenfallsstyrelsen'' or Royal Waterfall Board) was founded in 1909 as a state-owned enterprise in Sweden.<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.vattenfall.com/en/group-history.htm|title=Group History|access-date=22 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Katarina Buhr|author2=Anders Hansson|title=Capturing the stories of corporations: A comparison of media debates on carbon capture and storage in Norway and Sweden|journal=Global Environmental Change|date=2011|volume=21|issue=2|url=http://www.sivl.ivl.se/download/18.372c2b801403903d2751c08/1377863551197/Buhr+%26+Hansson+2011.pdf|access-date=30 January 2015|doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.01.021|pages=336–345|bibcode=2011GEC....21..336B }}</ref> From its founding until the mid-1970s, Vattenfall's business was largely restricted to [[Sweden]], with a focus on [[hydroelectric power]] generation. Only in 1974 did the company begin to build nuclear reactors in Sweden (the [[Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant|Ringhals 1 and 2]] reactors), eventually owning seven of Sweden's 12 reactors. In 1992, Vattenfall was reformed as the [[Aktiebolag|joint-stock company]] Vattenfall AB. At the same time, the transmission grid (220 kV and 400 kV lines) was transferred to the newly formed state agency [[Svenska kraftnät]], which also became responsible for the operation of the national power system.

In the years 1990 through 2009, Vattenfall expanded considerably (especially into Germany, Poland and the Netherlands), acquiring stakes in Hämeen Sähkö (1996), HEW (1999, 25.1% stake from the city of [[Hamburg]]), the Polish heat production company EW (2000, 55% stake), the Danish Elsam A/S (2005, 35.3% stake), and [[Nuon (company)|Nuon]] (2009, 49% stake, today 100%).<ref name="history" /><ref name="PM">{{cite web |url=http://www.cisionwire.com/vattenfall/nuon-and-vattenfall-join-forces-to-create-a-leading-european-energy-company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830191238/http://www.cisionwire.com/vattenfall/nuon-and-vattenfall-join-forces-to-create-a-leading-european-energy-company|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2009|title=Vattenfall - press release|work=Cision Wire|access-date=23 February 2009}}</ref> In 2002, Vattenfall AB and its acquisitions were incorporated as Vattenfall Europe AG, making it the third-largest electricity producer in [[Germany]].<ref name="history" />

Following the expansion period, Vattenfall started to divest parts of its business in Denmark and Poland during the years following 2009 in a strategy to focus on three core markets: Sweden, Netherlands, and Germany. Write-downs on coal-fired and nuclear power plant assets in Germany and gas power plants in the [[Netherlands]] were necessary for a difficult market environment with increasing renewable energy market share and due to the [[Nuclear power phase-out#Germany|German nuclear power phase-out]] decision made in 2011. In summer 2013 Vattenfall announced a write-down of the value of its assets by 29.7 billion SEK (US$4.6 billion).<ref name="WriteDown2013">{{cite web|url= http://bigstory.ap.org/article/vattenfall-writes-down-46-bln-splits-operations|title=Vattenfall writes down 4.6 bln USD, splits Operations|work=The Big Story |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> A major part of these write-offs were attributed to Nuon Energy NV, a Netherlands-based utility that Vattenfall purchased at an 89 billion SEK (ca. US$15 billion) price in 2009, but whose values were depreciating by 15 billion SEK (ca. US$2 billion) since.<ref name="SVDNedskrivning2013">{{cite news|url= http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/sverige/nedskrivningen-pa-15-miljarder-bara-borjan_8117260.svd |title=Nedskrivningen på 15 miljarder bara början |trans-title=The write-down of 15 billion is just the beginning |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=24 April 2013 |access-date=26 January 2014|last1=Lindvall |first1=Per }}</ref> The gloomy market outlook of decreasing power prices in combination with increasing risks notably on the continental market prompted the board to revise the group strategy by splitting its organizational structure into a Nordic part and a part with operations in continental Europe and the [[United Kingdom]] as of 2014. Some analysts have perceived this strategic review as a precursor to a partial retreat from continental European activities with a shift of focus towards activities in the Scandinavian market.<ref name="RetreatfromEurope">{{cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/technologie/das-technologie-update/energie/energiekonzern-vattenfall-prueft-deutschland-rueckzug/8539236.html|title=Handelsblatt on Vattenfall's potential retreat from Continental Europe |access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> In this context and in response to a local referendum on re-municipilization of distribution grids, Vattenfall agreed on the sale of company-owned electricity and district-heat grids in Hamburg to the City of Hamburg in early 2014.<ref name="HamburgGrid">{{cite web|url= https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/vattenfall-verkauft-netze-der-triumph-der-hamburger/9339924.html|title=Handelsblatt on Vattenfall's sale of power and heat grids to Hamburg City |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> In each of the second quarters of 2015 and 2016, Vattenfall filed [[Impairment (financial reporting)|impairments]] of SEK 28 billion, mostly due to lignite power stations in Germany. Operational financials were satisfactory.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nyteknik.se/energi/mangmiljardsmall-fran-tyskt-brunkol-6591339 | title=Mångmiljardsmäll från tyskt brunkol |trans-title=Multibillion-dollar explosion from German lignite |work=www.nyteknik.se |date= 21 July 2016|access-date= }}</ref> In 2020, Vattenfall reported a profit of SEK 7,716 billion with an operating profit (EBIT) of SEK 15,276 billion.

Outside of Sweden, Vattenfall is known for forcing the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government to publicly reveal the [[Chernobyl disaster]].  The Kremlin had tried to cover up the accident for a day, but elevated radiation levels at Vattenfall's [[Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant]] forced the Kremlin to admit the accident had occurred.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chernobyl haunts engineer who alerted world|date=26 April 1996 |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9604/26/chernobyl/230pm/index2.html|work=CNN Interactive World News|access-date=28 April 2008}}</ref>

In October 2020, it was announced that Gunnar Groebler, senior vice president at Vattenfall responsible for the company's wind power operations, would leave the organisation to join [[Salzgitter AG]]. <ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-10-17|title=Salzgitter Names Vattenfall's Groebler CEO Effective 2021|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-17/salzgitter-names-vattenfall-s-groebler-ceo-effective-2021|access-date=2020-10-20}}</ref>

Magnus Hall, President and CEO from October 2014, decided to leave the company in July 2020 and was succeeded by Anna Borg on November 1, 2020.

[[File:Vattenfall office building 20060913 001.jpg|thumb|Vattenfall's old buildings in [[Råcksta]] were abandoned in autumn 2012. They are being converted into flats since.]]
[[File:Vattenfall-Solna-Headquarters.jpg|thumb| Vattenfall's headquarters were moved to a new building in [[Solna Municipality|Solna]], north of Stockholm, in autumn 2012]]