Tim Probert
Italy has all but granted final approval for a law that gives the Berlusconi government six months to prepare necessary legislation and select sites for new nuclear power plants.
Apart from selecting nuclear plant sites, Rome will have to define rules for nuclear waste storage, introduce streamlined procedures for the approval of reactors and set up an agency to supervise nuclear safety. The Italian government will also come up with compensation measures for communities which may agree to host new nuclear power stations.
This last factor is crucial. Local governments will have the final say on whether or not nuclear projects can go ahead, and there is likely to be considerable opposition to any proposals for a new nuclear plant in a country that voted to shut down its nukes in 1987.
Much has changed since then. Natural gas fired generation has grown to comprise 60 per cent of Italy’s electricity supply and, after Russia’s repeated shows of strength, she knows all about the dangers of being over-reliant on one source of energy.
The climate change agenda, of course, has also given nuclear power a big boost, but the industry still has a major PR problem. Perhaps understandably so, with memories of Chernobyl still fresh. There are also valid questions as to whether Italy has the competence to deal with nuclear waste.
In recent years, however, a number of prominent environmentalists have come out as nuclear proponents. James Lovelock, George Monbiot and Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace no less, are among the previously dyed-in-the-wool anti-nuclear greenies who now publicly advocate the advantages of a reliable baseload power supply with practically zero carbon emissions.
It remains to be seen whether Italy as a nation has seen the light. A good old-fashioned sweetener (did someone say ‘bribe’?) may be the only way to enforce this particular government policy.
