Feb 01 - Datamonitor

Experts in Italy have urged the country's government to rethink its anti-nuclear stance in the wake of the country's recent supply security scare.

Delegates at an energy conference near Milan have expressed concern that Italy, already paying Europe's highest power prices, faces further capacity constraints owing to its reliance on Russian gas imports.

Italian power stations are heavily dependent on imported oil and gas for fuel, and the recent harsh weather conditions in eastern Europe prompted Russia to reduce supplies.

"The nuclear renaissance is possible in the long-term...we could see the first 'nuclear' kilowatt produced in some 15 years if there was a political decision. But it does not seem to be coming," Ennio Macchi, energy professor at Milan's Politecnico University, told the conference.

Italy turned its back on nuclear power after a plebiscite was held on the issue in 1986, in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. However delegates acknowledged the need for a political consensus on the issue to enable such a long term strategic investment in new build to be made.

"It takes 10-12 years to recover investments in a nuclear station, which means two or three legislative periods. There needs to be a political agreement on the issue to draw private investors," said Jaime Segarra, director of General Electric's nuclear energy arm, in comments reported by Reuters.