Italy’s government does not rule out resuming nuclear power generation in the country by 2035, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin has said. Pichetto Fratin made the remarks as the Italian Senate was considering a landmark bill aimed at reversing the country’s long-standing ban on nuclear energy. According to Politico, the legislation would establish the legal framework needed for the construction of new nuclear reactors in Italy.
Italy abandoned nuclear power following the 1987 referendum held after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and shut down its last nuclear power plants in 1990. However, geopolitical uncertainty and some of Europe’s highest electricity costs for businesses are prompting Rome to reconsider its long-standing position on nuclear energy. Pichetto Fratin said the energy crises linked to the situation in Ukraine and developments in the Gulf had exposed Italy’s “excessive dependence” on foreign energy supplies, making nuclear power a matter of “national security.” The minister also pointed to forecasts of a sharp increase in electricity demand over the next 10 to 15 years.
Rising demand is expected to be driven by the electrification of transport and industry, as well as the expansion of data centers needed to support artificial intelligence. According to Pichetto Fratin, generational change is also helping reduce resistance to nuclear energy in Italy. He said that if serial production of reactors begins by the end of this decade, construction times could potentially be reduced to three or four years.
This, he argued, could allow Italy to begin generating nuclear electricity as early as 2034 or 2035. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously said that the European Union made a “strategic mistake” by moving away from nuclear energy. Here we are to serve you with news right now.
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