Italy, which plans to reintroduce atomic power after a ban dating from the Chernobyl disaster, will announce sites for new nuclear plants in 2011, an official said Wednesday.
Under-Secretary for Economic Development Stefano Saglia said the sites in the controversial programme would be chosen in accord with regional governments, the ANSA news agency reported.
The centre-left governments of Naples' Campania region and that of Apulia, also in the south, have already said they would not host nuclear plants on their territory.
Italy's Greens sparked a fierce political debate in December when they released a list of sites they said the government was considering, and the issue is expected to colour regional elections in late March.
The far left lost all representation in parliament in the elections, and Berlusconi enjoys comfortable majorities in both houses of parliament.
Nuclear power was banned in Italy after a referendum held in 1987, the year after the reactor accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine, sent highly radioactive fallout over large areas of Europe.
The country's four nuclear plants operating at the time were shut down.
The centre-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced shortly after taking office in May 2008 that it would begin building nuclear power stations to solve the country's dependence on foreign oil and gas supplies.
Opponents to nuclear power would have to obtain 500,000 signatures on a petition to stage a new referendum at a time when public opinion has shifted considerably from just a few years ago.
The Berlusconi goverment has set the goal of meeting 25 percent of its electricity needs through nuclear power by 2030.
It wants to build between eight and 10 plants, with the first reactors set to be operational by 2018-19.
Saglia said nuclear power would lower the price of electricity in Italy to 40 euros per megawatt hour from the current 65 euros (92 dollars).
Share This Article With Planet Earth
