Loan for Nuclear Power (Anglais)

It is a little known fact that the World Bank financed a nuclear power plant. On September 16, 1959, the Bank made a loan equivalent to 40 million dollars for the construction of a 150,000 kilowatt atomic power plant in Italy (Loan 0235). This was Italy...  Voir la suite It is a little known fact that the World Bank financed a nuclear power plant. On September 16, 1959, the Bank made a loan equivalent to 40 million dollars for the construction of a 150,000 kilowatt atomic power plant in Italy (Loan 0235). This was Italy’s first nuclear power plant, and the Bank’s loan financed almost two-thirds of the cost of construction. The project also included civil works, a substation and about 60 miles of transmission lines. The Bank had been actively considering the development of nuclear power on a commercial basis since 1955. In June 1956 the Bank issued a report examining the status of nuclear power development at that time. The Bank examined several locations where a nuclear power plant might be considered. The conditions in Southern Italy appeared favorable. In July 1957, the Government of Italy and the Bank agreed to sponsor a joint study of the possibilities of a nuclear power station in Southern Italy. This study, known as ENSI (Energia Nucleare Sud-Italia). While the Bank has continued to monitor developments in the field of nuclear energy, the loan to Italy for the nuclear plant on the Gargliano river remains its only loan for that form of energy. This exhibit was first published in August 2003.  Réduire