Italy Freezes Nuclear Plans

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Italy's planned return to nuclear power has been put on hold for a year as a result of the ongoing nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.

The Italian government has voted in favour of a one-year moratorium for plans to re-introduce nuclear power to the country after a gap of 24 years. Italy shut down its four nuclear plants in 1987 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, but the current conservative government has been pushing to reintroduce nuclear power to the country to reduce the country's high dependence on foreign energy supplies. The government revoked its nuclear ban in 2009. For more information, see July 13, 2009, article - Italian Senate Approves Law Allowing Return of Nuclear Power.

The moratorium is a blow to Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Rome, Italy), which has a memorandum of understanding with Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF) (EDF) (Paris, France) to build at least four 1,600-megawatt (MW) plants using third-generation European Pressurised Reactors. For more information, see March 2, 2009, article - EDF and Enel Plan Four Nuclear Power Plants in Italy.

Italy is highly dependent on foreign oil and gas imports, and almost 20% of its electricity is generated by nuclear power plants in neighbouring countries. Electricity prices are about 30% higher in Italy than in other most European countries, and Enel and other pro-nuclear supporters argue that nuclear power would slash these prices. However, Italy is prone to earthquakes, and the ongoing Fukushima incident--with leaked radiation from the plant now being detected in Europe--is expected to change the Italian public's opinion on using nuclear power. The country will hold a referendum in June.

Italy's moratorium is the latest in a line of negative nuclear decisions taken by a number of European nations in the wake of the Fukushima incidents. Germany ordered the closure of seven of its oldest nuclear reactors last week, while Switzerland's government decided to halt the approvals process for two proposed nuclear plants because of safety concerns. For related news, see March 18, 2011, article - Germany to Shut Down Oldest Nuclear Power Stations and March 16, 2011, article -Switzerland Halts Nuclear Plant Programme.

Earlier this week, the European Union called on member states to carry out 'stress-tests' on the region's 143 nuclear reactors. For related news, see March 29, 2011, article - Europe's Nuclear Reactors Face 'Stress Tests'.

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