I.A.E.A. - Country Nuclear Power Profile -
Italy Report
( 2002 Edition - It updates the country information, in general, to the
end of 2001)
(This is the fourth edition of the Country Nuclear Power Profiles)
Narrative overview of nuclear power development in Italy
1 - General
information
2 -
Electricity sector
3 -
Nuclear power situation
4 -
Nuclear power industry
5 -
Regulatory framework
1. General information
1.1. General Overview
In 2000, the population of Italy was about 58 million with the density
of 192 people per square kilometre. The capital and largest city is Rome which had a population
of 2,693,383 in 1991. The country is composed of 20 regions, which are
subdivided into 104 provinces.
1.2. Economic
Indicators
The table shows the historical GDP (Gross Domestic Product) data.
1.3. Energy Situation
Italy is poor in natural resources and depends heavily on imported
energy supply. In 2000, about 83% of Italy’s energy was imported.
Natural gas is Italy’s largest domestic source of energy with proven
reserves of 9.1 EJ in 1996.
Italy’s total primary energy consumption was 184.8 Mtoe in 2000, of
which solid fuels
accounted for 12.8 Mtoe, oil 91.3 Mtoe, natural gas 58.1 Mtoe, renewable
sources (hydro, geo, wind, solar, biomasses) 12.8 Mtoe, and electricity
net imports 9.8 Mtoe.
1.4. Energy Policy
The last Energy Plan approved by the Government dates back to August
1998. It focused on a set of actions capable of yielding substantial
results in terms of energy conservation, environmental protection,
development of domestic energy sources, diversification of imported
energy sources and their origins, and safeguarding the competitiveness
of the production system. Since 1988, the Italian Government has issued
no further comprehensive energy documents. A five-years nuclear
moratorium, following a popular referendum, which took place in 1987,
officially expired in December 1993, nevertheless the Government remains
steadfast in excluding nuclear energy.
Recently, a new State owned Company (SOGIN) got the assets constituted
by the closed existing power stations (about 1,400 MW) and will take
care of their decommissioning. A return to nuclear power, in Italy, is
for the moment not foreseeable.
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