The renaissance of Italian nuclear power

In the fifties Italy was an advanced country in terms of nuclear electricity but as a consequence of the Chernobyl accident Italy changed drastically its energy policy and closed definitely all its nuclear plants. Now in order to be less dependent on energy imports and to reduce its CO2 emission, Italy has changed its mind and welcomes nuclear power in its future energy mix. The aim is to reach the following contributions for the production of electricity in 2030: 50% from fossil fuels, 25% from renewable energies and 25% from nuclear energy (13.000 MWe) and with a first reactor operating in 2020. The main actors of the renaissance of nuclear power in Italy are: -) ENEL (the second electricity producer in Europe), -) SOGIN, a company that is mainly in charge of the dismantling of nuclear plants, -) ENEA a state agency for the development of new technologies, energy and sustainable development, and -) companies working in the nuclear industry like ANSALDO. Various collaboration agreements have been signed between ENEL and EDF or between ENEA and CEA concerning staff training, nuclear safety or radioactive waste management. The main difficulties of this renaissance of the nuclear energy are to get the agreement of the national and local populations as well as that of the political class that is strongly marked by a division in 2 wings. (A.C.)