Enel, ItalyÔÇÖs largest energy company, has finalised a deal with Electricit├® de France (EDF) that will seek to develop nuclear power stations in Italy.
The venture, worth up to Ôé¼16 billion, will study the feasibility of building at least four reactors with advanced, Areva-designed EPR technology at a cost of Ôé¼4 billion each.
Under the terms of the deal, Enel and EDF will each hold 50 per cent of the joint venture, entitled Sviluppo Nucleare Italia, which will be under Italian jurisdiction, and headquartered in Rome. Enel is due to nominate the CEO and EDF the chairman.
Following feasibility studies, contracts to build, own and operate the plants will be awarded to individual firms.
The move comes as the Italian government drives to reverse its ban on nuclear-power generation in Italy, which was laid down in 1987 following the Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union.
Worldwide, governments are keen both to reduce their dependence on existing forms of energy and to reduce their carbon emissions. Nuclear power plants are able to produce low-carbon electricity for as long as 60 years.
There are currently around 200 nuclear reactors in Europe, producing about a third of the continentÔÇÖs electricity needs. France, Belgium, Slovakia and Lithuania all use nuclear power to meet more than 50 per cent of their electricity requirements.
Enel already has nuclear power facilities in France, Spain, Romania and Slovakia.
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