Italy

Italy's largest utility, ENEL, which produces 14 percent of its electricity through nuclear power plants in Slovakia and Spain, is expected to invest between $20-24 billion to build four nuclear generators. The reactors are expected to be European Pressurized Reactors (EPR). Currently four similar reactors are under construction with the first two... in Finland and France and two additional units being built in China. A nuclear regulatory authority is going to be set up in the coming months and a suitable site for a surface repository facility for storing waste is being investigated and in the near future they will also define a long-term national program for managing waste and spent fuel, in accordance with the European Community's recent Waste Directive. In July of 2009 the Italian parliament adopted a bill bringing to an end the ban on the use of nuclear energy. Italy definitively approved the return of nuclear energy after 22 years as part of a new development strategy. Italy abandoned nuclear energy after a 1987 referendum, whose result was strongly influenced by the Chernobyl disaster in Russia the previous year. The new law covers a large range of areas including nuclear safety, licensing, research, potential sites' selection and decommissioning. Last February, the Italian government signed a decree defining criteria and procedures for the construction of nuclear power plants in the country by 2020. The decree draws a list of criteria for suitable sites for nuclear power plants. It also defines procedures for construction and operation of plants and a system of financial compensation for areas that agree to host nuclear stations. These initiatives demonstrate Italy's strong commitment to securing national energy sources which are compliant with international best practices underscored by a broader global nuclear renaissance, particularly at a time when austerity measures and economic priorities can complicate these issues. Russia's state run uranium giant ARMZ has made a $1.16 billion takeover offer for ...Read More