Italian Senate passes law for return to nuclear power

The Italian Senate has passed a law for a return to nuclear power. The draft was approved by 81 votes to 51 with seven abstentions. The Chamber of Deputies had previously agreed. The law does not authorize the construction of reactors. Rather, it creates the regulatory foundation required before future projects can be proposed, reviewed and approved.

The law authorizes the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to draw up implementing regulations within the next twelve months. These should regulate, among other things, the approval of reactors, safety standards, the disposal of radioactive waste and criteria for future locations.

Meloni's government argues that rising electricity demand, climate goals and energy security concerns justify a return to nuclear power as part of the national energy mix. Instead of restarting the large reactors of the past, the government is turning to small modular reactors, known as SMRs, and other advanced technologies that their advocates say could be safer, more flexible and quicker to build.

Italy's citizens are divided over a return to nuclear power

According to a June survey by the Demopolis Institute, 51 percent of Italians supported a resumption of nuclear power production. However, a majority spoke out against building a nuclear power plant near their home.

Italy gave up nuclear energy after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. In national referendums, Italians also voted against the use of nuclear power twice - first after the Chernobyl reactor accident and again after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

In the past, Italy was one of the European pioneers in nuclear power and operated four reactors. Since abandoning the energy source, the country has become heavily dependent on imports and has become one of the largest buyers of electricity from nuclear power plants in neighboring countries.