The Case of Porto Torres: Candidate Site for Research on Fusion. Gaetano Borrelli and Giancarlo Tosato, Enea - Italian Agency for New Technologies Energy and Environment, Enea Cr Casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301 - 00060 Roma, Italy, telephone +0630484018, fax +0630484925, e-mail borrelli@casaccia.enea.it
On the basis of qualitative arguments, fusion is currently considered as one of the candidate technologies for the production of electricity in a sustainable global society. Early communication on costs and benefits between research, public opinion and politics is necessary in order to put this new complex technology into use. In fact, any project implying a significant impact on the territory must find effective ways of dealing with that territory in order to minimise social as well as economic costs of the enterprise and to maximise the benefits.
ENEA, the national Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Environment is the Italian associate to EURATOM. Nearly 400 out of 3500 employees are carrying out research on fusion at the Frascati and Brasimone Research Centre.
The research had three main logical steps: (1) to identify the information on fusion technology to be communicated to the local population to allow reaction and public acceptance to be investigated; (2) to evaluate the impact of the installation of a fusion experimental reactor on the regional economy, labour force and on the structure of the production system; (3) to analyse the social impact and acceptance of a large fusion facility in the Porto Torres area, island of Sardinia, and to find the best way to inform the local population about benefits and cost of such an installation, in order to gain the public opinion co-operation. The Porto Torres, area has been chosen because it presents conditions favourable to the study - but not necessarily tied to the fusion installation - such as the open attitude of the mayor, the presence of a strong local university team, the insularity which enhances the effects.
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