With the Chernobyl reactor disaster, Italy said goodbye to nuclear energy. However, energy companies Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo Nucleare, Electricite de France (EDF) and Edison are now hoping for a renaissance. In a joint declaration of intent, the companies want to work together on the development of the latest generation of nuclear energy in Europe and to promote its dissemination.
The aim of the agreement is to use the skills of the Italian nuclear industry, in which Ansaldo Nucleare is the leading company, to support the development of the EDF Group’s new nuclear projects. At the same time, reflection on the possible role of modern nuclear energy in Italy’s energy transition should be encouraged. Italy stopped nuclear power after a referendum in the 1980s.
“Side role” in the energy transition
The companies involved in the project commit themselves to exploring industrial cooperation. The Ansaldo Energia Group, EDF and Edison also commit to study the potential for the development and application of nuclear energy in Italy, as the Italian electricity system requires greater security and energy independence.
According to the four signatories, nuclear energy “can play a complementary role to renewable energy sources, ensure stability and contribute to the environmental sustainability of the electricity system,” according to a statement.
Italians have recently been clearly opposed to re-entry
In 1987, one year after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Italians voted in a referendum to phase out nuclear energy. The last nuclear power plants were closed in 1990. In 2009, then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that he wanted to return to nuclear energy, but put his plan on hold following the Fukushima disaster. In another referendum in 2011, about 94.5 percent of Italians voted against building new nuclear power plants.
Source: Krone
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