The upper house Senate of the Italian parliament gave its final clearance to a comprehensive plan put forth by the government to restart nuclear power generation across the country. The decisive step comes nearly forty years after a public referendum effectively forced the closure of all existing nuclear reactors in Italy.

The administration aims to deploy state-of-the-art advanced modular reactors to assist in decarbonising the industrial sectors and to fortify national energy security. Officials contend that substantial advances in safety protocols and nuclear technology have rendered the historic anti-nuclear vote of 1987 completely obsolete.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni led a right-wing government that sought to shield the domestic economy from sharp escalations in energy pricing caused by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The move reignited widespread calls to lower overall dependence on foreign energy suppliers and build domestic self-reliance.

Speaking after the parliamentary vote, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin emphasised that sustainable nuclear power, when combined with renewable energy infrastructure, would transform Italy into a safe, independent, and highly competitive nation.

Presently, Italy relies very heavily on external energy imports, which includes electricity generated directly by nuclear power plants situated in neighbouring nations like France.

Conversely, anti-nuclear campaigners contend that persistent safety concerns and the prolonged timeframes needed to construct new reactors far outweigh any potential advantages of resurrecting the sector.

The general public in Italy remains deeply divided on the proposal to reintroduce nuclear facilities. A survey conducted by Demopolis revealed that while 51 per cent of citizens supported restarting atomic power generation, a clear majority expressed strong opposition to building any nuclear plant near their own homes.

When the administration first unveiled its strategic framework, the government estimated that maintaining nuclear energy at a minimum of 11 per cent within the national energy mix could yield savings of approximately ₹1,61,500 crore (€17 billion or $19 billion) in overall decarbonisation expenditure by the year 2050.

According to the official national energy and climate plan formulated by Italy, the overall share of nuclear power could progressively rise to as high as 22 per cent over time.

The newly approved law grants the administration a period of 12 months to adopt necessary implementing decrees to officially relaunch nuclear power production. Furthermore, the legislation establishes explicit provisions for the decommissioning of legacy facilities and sets up a dedicated independent regulator to oversee all operations.

Opposition political factions on the centre-left broadly resisted the legislative measure during debates and strongly urged the government to refrain from allocating any fresh land parcels for constructing new nuclear reactors.

Elena Sironi, a prominent senator representing the Five Star Movement, stated that any newly planned facilities should be positioned primarily in regions that are already fully developed, degraded, or impacted by past decommissioned industrial activities, without consuming any additional virgin land.

Beyond political debates, Italian energy companies have actively pursued technical collaboration by establishing specialised entities, such as Nuclitalia, formed jointly by energy producer Enel SpA, engineering firm Ansaldo Energia SpA, and defence entity Leonardo SpA.

Italian authorities have also explored reactor options across various international markets, examining foreign systems to decide which technology best fits their long-term power grid objectives.

PTI