Italy Freezes Its Nuclear Plan After Japan Crisis

[jpak]

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/23/134784485/italy-freezes-its-nuclear-plan-after-japan-crisis

European leaders meet in Brussels Thursday with the nuclear disaster in Japan very much on their minds. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for the European Union to have common safety standards for nuclear power plants, but agreement will be difficult.

On Monday, energy ministers could not even agree on how and when to conduct stress tests on European nuclear plants. Reactions to the Fukushima accident have differed sharply across Europe.

In Italy, fear of losing upcoming local elections has forced the conservative government to slow its push to re-introduce nuclear power. Rome is calling for a one-year moratorium on nuclear power but anti-nuclear activists say it's just a ploy to buy time.

Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl, the worst nuclear disaster in history. A year later, in 1987, Italians overwhelmingly voted against nuclear energy in a nationwide referendum. Italy's four nuclear power stations were shut down.

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[Statistical]

1. Italy has the dubious distinction as the country that imports the most electricity.

A situation that has only gotten progressively worse since shutting down its own reactors. Today Italy imports almost 30% of its annual electricity generation and as a result has the highest electricity prices in Europe.

Rather than generate electricity by nuclear power, Italy imports electricity generated in France and Slovenia by ..... (wait for the punch line) ... nuclear power.

Italy shutdown it's nuclear reactors over 20 years ago. Despite the fact that renewable energy grew, it didn't grow fast enough to make up the lost generation capacity (much less reduce fossil fuel consumption). Today Italy refuses to use nuclear energy but imports power from a nuclear plant less than 60 miles from the Italian border.


Source of Italy non-nuclear, nuclear power.

[mimitabby]

2. oooo big NIMBY!

[avaistheone1]

3. Italy should go solar.

k&r