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Why Italy?

Italy decided to embrace nuclear power two decades after a public referendum banned nuclear power and deactivated all its reactors. This could be just the first of several European countries to reverse its stance on nuclear power, a leading industry group has said. Ian Hore-Lacey, spokesman for the London-based World Nuclear Association, said: "Italy has had the most dramatic, the most public turnaround, but the sentiments against nuclear are reversing very quickly all across Europe." 

Italy, the only G8 country with no nuclear power stations, decommissioned its four plants after a public referendum in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. Yet with fuel prices at record highs, Italy is spending twice as much as France on generating electricity each year, and has had to shut several power stations to save money. It is also the world's biggest importer of electricity, buying 10 per cent of its power from nuclear plants in neighbouring countries.

In May 2008, the new pro-nuclear Italian government confirmed that it would commence building new nuclear power plants within five years, to reduce the country's great dependence on oil, gas and imported power. The government introduced a package of nuclear legislation, including measures to set up a national nuclear research and development entity, to expedite licensing of new reactors at existing nuclear power plant sites, and to facilitate licensing of new reactor sites. The comprehensive economic development legislation finally passed in July 2009 makes nuclear power a key component of energy policy with a view to having 25% of electricity generated by nuclear power by 2030.

Nuclear Power Europe will enable exhibitors to plug into the both the international and Italian power markets.