Italy to develop nuclear plants after 24 years

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IANS/AKI | 10 Apr, 2010
After 24 years of moratorium, Italy will develop nuclear power plants with the help of France to meet its energy needs.

Nuclear energy production is "an absolute necessity" in Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Friday after meeting French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.

Italy had closed down its all nuclear programmes following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.

But "now you need to convince the people where the plants will be built", he said.

Earlier this year, Berlusconi pushed through a decree that sets a timetable for work to start on new reactors from 2013, with production due to come on line by 2020.

The Berlusconi government wants 25 percent of Italy's electricity to come from nuclear power.

In Italy, electricity is currently produced from plants that run on coal, natural gas or oil. Italy also imports energy, primarily from France, where almost 80 percent of electricity is generated through nuclear plants.