Edison conducting nuclear feasibility study
17 July 2008
[Thomas Financial, 16 July] Italy's Edison will complete a feasibility study on nuclear power generation by the end of the year, according to the company's director of development, Roberto Poti. Edison has previously said the group's next industrial plan could contain some reference to nuclear power development. The company's CEO, Umberto Quadrino has said that if Italy reintroduced nuclear power, the country will need to construct between 10,000 and 15,000 MWe of nuclear capacity. In March, Quadrino said that it would take at least ten years to construct a nuclear power plant in Italy if the country ends its moratorium on nuclear energy. He also said that Edison wants to construct as many as ten nuclear power plants at a cost of €40 billion ($63 billion). A referendum held in 1987 banned the use of nuclear energy in Italy. However, the newly-elected government of President Silvio Berlusconi is planning a new generation of nuclear power plants.