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Country profile: Italy

Summary figures for 2010

Country
Number of nuclear power plants connected to the grid
Nuclear electricity generation
(net TWh) 2010
Nuclear percentage of total electricity supply
Italy
0
0.0
0.0
  
OECD Europe
144
868.5
24.7
  
OECD Total
342
2 183.7
21.8
  

Country report

Italy closed the operation of its four nuclear power plants more than 20 years ago. The decommissioning of these old NPPs is the most significant nuclear activity, as well as the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, including those deriving from industrial, medical and research uses.

Nuclear energy was considered in 2004, when a law about “Reorganisation of the national energy sector” allowed the national electricity producers to form joint-ventures with foreign companies to build and operate abroad energy plants, including nuclear power plants, even with the aim to import electricity generated from those power plants.

As an effect of this law the major national utility ENEL SpA has been encouraged to develop a programme with foreign companies and consequently has acquired an operating nuclear capacity of 4 400 MW. In 2007, ENEL SpA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Électricité de France to share 12.5% of the new nuclear power project European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), with a first installation that is built at Flamanville (1 600 MW).

In the same year, the Government decided the strategy for reprocessing in foreign facilities the residual spent fuel still present on the national territory. To this end an Intergovernmental Agreement between Italy and France was signed on November 2006 for reprocessing in France all Italian spent fuel presently stored in the nuclear plants (235 tonnes HM).

Accordingly, a road map has been defined on the decision-making process for the national repository to be built at a suitable site to dispose of low and intermediate wastes and to temporarily host high level waste. The availability of the repository is scheduled for 2020.

Moreover, the Minister of Economic Development signed on 13 November 2007 the Statement of Principles of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

On the same date, a Bilateral Agreement between the Ministry of Economic Development and the US Department of Energy was signed in the field of energy research and development, including nuclear energy.

The new Italian Government after elections of April 2008 decided to re-introduce the nuclear energy option. The National Energy Strategy will include the rebuilding of the nuclear sector, aiming at improving the electricity production competitiveness and the energy sources diversification as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The first step is to rebuild the legal framework and the technological conditions that should allow the start of construction of a new NPP by 2013. The following necessary provisions are under discussion in the Italian Parliament:

In the long term, the mix of electricity production is planned to include 25% from nuclear, 25% from renewable energy and 50% from fossil fuels.

In this direction, on February 2009, a Protocol of Understanding was signed by Italy and France in the energy field, together with a Memorandum of Understanding between ENEL SpA and Électricité de France aimed at perform feasibility studies of building in Italy four units (6 400 MW) of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) and ENEL SpA to participate in the construction of the Penly EPR. An objective of the joint-venture is to build the first Italian EPR unit by 2020.

Source: Nuclear Energy Data 2009

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Last reviewed: 7 October 2011