Charley... MAYBE this one too... it does have a downside...

NHK...

The Italian government has frozen a plan to build new nuclear power plants in the country.

On Tuesday, the administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi submitted a bill to the Senate that indefinitely shelves the construction of new plants.

The bill says the plan was frozen in order to obtain further scientific proof about the safety of nuclear plants.

After the 1986 Chernobyl accident, Italy shut down all its nuclear power stations and abandoned nuclear power generation.

But the Berlusconi administration had come up with a plan to build new plants as a way to resolve the country's energy shortages.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant due to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, Italy announced a one-year moratorium on site selection and plant construction.

The latest move is apparently in response to rising public opposition to nuclear power generation.

A referendum had been scheduled for June on whether to resume nuclear power generation in Italy.

But the Italian media say the referendum is not likely to be held in view of the latest decision.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 10:27 +0900 (JST)