The Nuclear Power Plant in Garigliano. a History of a State Business (1957-1964)
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The Nuclear Power Plant in Garigliano. A History of a State Business (1957-1964) Valentina Della Gala UCL PhD 2010 1 I, Valentina Della Gala confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Valentina Della Gala 2 Abstract Current research has shown that the way that nuclear technology was developed in Italy was marked by two specific trends. First, the adoption of nuclear technology took place in Italy before it was used by other European countries, and second, there was a whole range of initiatives in this sector. In this context this PhD looks in detail at the US technology available at the time and then analyses how and in which specific forms Italy set up a national nuclear programme, before moving on to a discussion of the results of the Italian programme. By concentrating on Italy’s Società elettronucleare nazionale (SENN) (National Nuclear Electricity Company) I have been able to analyse these wider questions. The first chapter looks at the relationship between Italy and the World Bank using the archives of the Banca d’Italia (the Italian national bank), the World Bank archives, and secondary literature. It looks at the context in which a nuclear power plant was built in the Italian South, on the Garigliano river; this investment is also compared with other investments by the World Bank in Italy. The second chapter looks at the forms of nuclear technology available at the time and the characteristics of the US ‘Atoms for Peace’ programme. The aim of this chapter is to draw out the importance of propaganda in promoting technology which was still linked to its possible military use. Chapter 3 looks at the situation in Italy at the time of the building of the nuclear power plant, the research applied at the time, and other public and private investments in Italy in nuclear power. This analysis is based on archival material, interviews with key figures from the time, newspaper articles, secondary literature, and specialised periodicals. Chapter 4 looks at the negotiations between the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the Italian national bank over the creation of a nuclear power station in Garigliano. This research is based on the archives of the World Bank and Italy’s national bank, and private archives. Chapter 5 looks at the loans which were used to build the plant, and at the beginning of its construction. Chapter 6 takes the story on to the construction, activity, and closure of the plant. Finally, Chapter 7 shows how nuclear energy was represented in the Italian newspapers. Table of Contents (Indice) Abstract .............................................................................. 2 3 Summary in English ............................................................ 8 Tavola delle figure ............................................................ 28 Tavola delle tabelle .......................................................... 30 Introduzione .................................................................... 31 Obiettivi .................................................................................. 32 Storiografia ............................................................................ 36 Fonti ....................................................................................... 39 Metodologia ............................................................................ 42 Piano della ricerca .................................................................. 42 Capitolo 1 – Preambolo (1947-1954) ............................... 46 1.1 La Banca mondiale, l’Italia e lo sviluppo del Mezzogiorno 47 1.1.1 Le prime fasi del rapporto tra la Banca mondiale e l’Italia .... 50 1.2 Sulla rivoluzione nel campo della fisica nucleare .............. 62 1.3 L’apertura di un mercato internazionale di macchine e conoscenze per la produzione di energia: The Atoms for peace speech ................................................... 68 Capitolo 2 - La centrale del Garigliano: l’idea (1955-1957) ........................................................... 79 2.1 Stato della ricerca nucleare in Italia dal dopoguerra agli anni ‘50 ............................................................................ 83 2.2 L’Atomic Energy Commission e la Banca mondiale ............ 94 2.3 Il Cnrn e l’Atomic Energy Commission .............................. 99 2.4 I contatti tra il Governo, la Banca d’Italia, il presidente della Repubblica e la Banca mondiale............... 103 2.5 La pubblica opinione italiana e l’energia nucleare .......... 109 2.6 La situazione energetica dell’Italia in rapporto all’utilizzo della fonte nucleare ............................................. 114 2.6.1 Il rapporto Rosenstein-Rodan – Little ............................... 118 2.6.2 Il rapporto Angelini ........................................................ 121 2.6.3 Il rapporto Morelli .......................................................... 122 2.6.4 Il piano Ferretti: l’alternativa mai considerata ................... 124 Capitolo 3 - La centrale del Garigliano: gli esordi ........... 128 3.1 Marzo-ottobre 1957: la corsa all’acquisto dei reattori .... 129 4 3.2 Le iniziative nucleari italiane .......................................... 131 3.2.1 Sorin ............................................................................ 133 3.2.2 Sorin-Agip Nucleare ....................................................... 134 3.2.3 Simea .......................................................................... 134 3.2.4 Selni ............................................................................ 137 3.3 La società incaricata della costruzione della centrale: dalla Selni alla Senn ............................................................. 141 3.4 Il Progetto Ensi (Energia Nucleare Sud Italia) o “the World Bank exercise” .................................................... 155 3.5 La teconologia dei reattori: Lwr versus Gas-graphite ..... 160 Capitolo 4 - La centrale del Garigliano: il finanziamento (1958-1960) ........................................ 162 4.1 Primo livello: Banca mondiale, Morgan-Stanley, Banca d’Italia ....................................................................... 163 4.2 Secondo livello: Banca mondiale, Senn ........................... 170 4.2.1 L’opzione Eximbank ....................................................... 177 Capitolo 5 - La centrale del Garigliano e la Senn: dal prototipo alla normalizzazione (1957-1964) ............ 189 5.1 Gli azionisti e il consiglio di amministrazione della Senn 193 5.1.1 Mutamenti nel capitale azionario della Senn ...................... 193 5.1.2 Composizione del consiglio di amministrazione della Senn .. 195 5.2 La vicenda finanziaria della Senn .................................... 199 5.2.1 1957 e 1958: i primi 2 esercizi ........................................ 199 5.2.1.1 Le dimissioni del presidente della Senn Carlo Matteini ........... 203 5.2.2 1959: il 3° esercizio ....................................................... 206 5.2.3 1960: il 4° esercizio ....................................................... 209 5.2.4 1961: il 5° esercizio ....................................................... 211 5.2.5 1962: il 6° esercizio ....................................................... 214 5.2.5.1 Iri-Eni: lo scontro sull'elettrodotto ...................................... 215 5.2.6 1963: il 7° esercizio ....................................................... 220 5.3 Il contenzioso Senn-Enel ................................................ 223 5.4 La nascita dell'Enel e il nucleare ..................................... 228 5.5 Il processo a Felice Ippolito ............................................ 231 5 Capitolo 6 - La centrale del Garigliano: la costruzione (1959-1964) ............................................ 236 6.1 Il rilascio e l'utilizzo delle rate del prestito ..................... 237 6.2 La scelta della località e la requisizione dei terreni ......... 238 6.3 I rapporti con la General Electric .................................... 244 6.4 Appalti ............................................................................ 252 6.5 I primi mesi di funzionamento della centrale .................. 255 6.6 Il personale .................................................................... 260 6.6.1 Il villaggio Senn ............................................................ 263 6.7 L'accoglienza da parte della popolazione locale: sciopero a Sessa Aurunca ............................................................................. 264 6.9 Le forme di comunicazione dell'azienda .......................... 267 Capitolo 7 - Le centrali nucleari della (prima) era atomica in Italia: rappresentazione .......................... 270 7.1 La rappresentazione dell’energia nucleare sul quotidiano Il Mattino di Napoli ............................................. 271 7.2 Il Progetto Ensi e la centrale del Garigliano .................... 279 Conclusioni ..................................................................... 282 Appendice I – Le origini della Banca mondiale (1944-1947) ................................................................... 285 Il ruolo degli Stati Uniti nei primi anni di attività della Banca ........................................................................... 292 Il ruolo della comunità finanziaria ........................................ 298 La politica di finanziamenti della Banca: dalla ricostruzione allo sviluppo ..........................................