Italy eyes nuclear power comeback by 2035

ROME — Italy could be generating nuclear electricity again by 2035, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said, as a landmark bill to reverse the country’s decades-long nuclear shutdown heads for a vote in the senate. Italy turned away from nuclear power after a 1987 referendum prompted by the Chernobyl disaster, closing its last plants in 1990. Now geopolitical uncertainty and some of Europe’s highest business electricity costs are driving a rethink. The bill would establish a legal pathway for new reactors. It is expected to reach the senate on Monday, with approval expected within days, having passed the lower house in June. In an interview with POLITICO, Pichetto Fratin said the energy shocks linked to Ukraine and the Persian Gulf had exposed Italy’s “excessive dependence” on foreign supplies, making nuclear power a matter of “national security.” The push reflects Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ambition to make Italian industry more competitive amid Europe’s drive for energy independence. The European Commission unveiled a strategy in March to accelerate small modular reactors. Pichetto Fratin cited forecasts of sharply rising electricity demand over the next 10 to 15 years as transport and industry electrify and data centers expand to support artificial intelligence. Generational change was also softening resistance, he argued. “Young people today are much less ideologically driven and much more pragmatic … They are determined to get to the bottom of things and realize that nuclear power can be a safe source of energy that can help achieve decarbonization,” he said. Modular model Italy’s plans focus on small modular reactors. Pichetto Fratin said serial production by the end of this decade could cut construction to three or four years, allowing generation in 2034 or 2035. The current legislation will not immediately authorize construction but will lay the groundwork for an independent nuclear safety authority, establish waste management rules and advance plans for a national repository for radioactive waste. Pichetto Fratin said implementing decrees would be presented by the end of the year, with industrial partners assessing costs, potential operators and sites. He favored private management under strict public supervision. Industry has already begun weighing the options. Italian utility company Enel, power equipment maker Ansaldo Energia and defense group Leonardo established a joint venture, Nuclitalia, to assess advanced nuclear technologies. In June, French energy giant EDF signed a declaration of intent with Italian industrial partners to develop small modular reactors, targeting the first plants by 2035. The government does not need a fresh referendum to legislate, although opponents could seek a vote to repeal the new rules. Opponents argue that nuclear power would divert money from renewables. Angelo Bonelli of the Greens accused the government of serving polluters and energy companies. He cited heat-related disruptions at reactors in France and Romania. With elections due next year, a future government could also reverse course. Asked how he could prevent that, Pichetto Fratin acknowledged that voters would have the final say. “We are a democracy,” Pichetto Fratin said. “If the Italian people choose backwardness over the modernization of the future, that would be a democratic choice, unfortunately, in my view.” Gianfranco Caruso, a professor of nuclear engineering at Rome’s Sapienza University, considered the minister’s timetable “realistic,” and said that nuclear should complement renewables, as a fully renewable system would be difficult to manage. Combining the two could eventually bring Italian electricity prices closer to Spain’s, where they were 40% lower. But winning hearts and minds may prove harder than passing the law. A Demopolis poll in June found supporters narrowly ahead, although six in 10 Italians opposed a plant in their own province. Caruso said winning people over meant explaining nu