(Oil Price) – Italy looks to finalize by the end of 2027 plans and legislation that would allow a return to nuclear power generation after more than four decades, Italian Energy Security Minister and Environment Minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, told Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore in an interview published on Thursday.
Italy halted nuclear reactors after a referendum in 1987 following the Chornobyl disaster a year earlier. In 2011, Italians rejected again the use of nuclear power in yet another referendum.
But Italy’s current government led by Giorgia Meloni said last year that it plans to adopt legislation to return to nuclear power with the latest generation of small modular reactors (SMRs), as part of efforts to decarbonize industry.
These reactors are believed to be simpler and cheaper to build and install. Because of their smaller size, it is possible to install SMRs on sites that are not suitable for bigger reactors. They are also significantly cheaper and faster to build than conventional reactors and can be constructed incrementally to meet the growing energy demand of a site.
“Italy is ready to return to nuclear power, which is a crucial choice and will not replace renewables, but complement them,” Pichetto said.
“Returning to nuclear is a move we can no longer delay and we should not waste this opportunity to play a leading role in the sector expected to be key for decarbonization and energy supply security in the coming decades,” the minister added.
Last year, Pichetto said that Italy is in talks with several companies, including U.S. Westinghouse and French EDF, for nuclear power cooperation. The companies could be partners in an Italian state-backed firm to build advanced nuclear reactors in Italy, the minister said in October.
“The scale of investment in nuclear power requires cooperation with several international players,” Pichetto told reporters.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
