Nuclear energy returns to Italy; almost forty years after the victory of “Yes” at the referendum on the repeal of Italian nuclear power plants in 1987, where 65% of voters expressed the desire to close the operating plants (according to some also due to the emotional wave of the Chernobyl disaster), the Bel Paese will re-establish relations with the atom.
The Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, has in fact nuclear power has been officially included in the 2030-2050 energy mixpreparing a team to redesign the rules currently in force.
The Dicastery’s decision comes shortly after the fact-finding investigation on the role of nuclear energy for the energy transition and the abandonment of coal in Italy, launched by the Chamber’s Environment Commission in March.
NUCLEAR AND RENEWABLES
The decision of the Ministry of the Environment does not come unexpected, considering not only the general position of the Government in office regarding nuclear and renewables, but also the statements made by Pichetto Fratin on the occasion of the panel “Italian nuclear power in the challenge to climate change” held at the University of Pavia on April 15th.
During his speeches, the minister declared::
New generation nuclear power [ndr, gli SMR, Small Modular Reactor] represents a resource for the fight against climate change and should be defined as a return to the future, an ecological choice and an effective strategy to support the Italian commitment against global warming and the achievement of decarbonisation objectives, without enormous social and environmental sacrifices …. The policies of the European Union have all been based on the ideological replacement of hydrocarbons with electricity. But thinking of being able to replace all uses of hydrocarbons only with renewables is a challenging and complex objective: Italy needs a lot of good energy and to get all of Italy moving with electricity, without hydrocarbons, we should here in the next 25 years we will cover the country with panels and wind turbines. We must proceed with caution.
And on renewables, the cornerstone of the European energy transition established by Brussels, he added, during a television interview with La Stampa:
Renewables are not enough. And we cannot ruin this beautiful country with shovels and panels everywhere… The next Italian Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec), to be sent to the EU by June, will report scenarios that will include nuclear power in the energy mix from 2030 to 2050. The analyzes are still ongoing, but the platform for sustainable nuclear power that we have established takes the topic forward concretely
RETURN TO NUCLEAR, THE GOVERNMENT’S POSITION
Supporting the decision of the Environment Department is not only the majority, but also other ministers, such as Adolfo Urso (Business and Made in Italy), Flavio Cattaneo (CEO of Enel) and Alessandro Spada (president of Assolombarda).
Urso, expressing his full support for the inclusion of nuclear power in the Italian energy mix, highlighted how, despite the closure of Italian power plants, research and training in the sector continued, allowing Italy to continue to “play a leading role in the field of training and research with companies, universities and research institutes recognized as internationally excellent”.
Flavio Cattaneo added:
To achieve energy independence, Italy must not be tied to dependence on a single energy source, but must focus on a mix consisting of gas, nuclear and renewable sources. The big question mark is nuclear; Enel manages this technology in Spain and Slovakia, where we are building the newest power plant in Europe. In nuclear power, the possibility of having small reactors that have greater safety and for which there is the possibility of creating an industrial supply chain is hypothesized
Finally, according to Alessandro Spada, focusing on new generation nuclear power means “investing in the future”:
… In Italy, added value generation of 45 billion euros is expected, accompanied by savings of 400 billion compared to a scenario based solely on renewable sources and conventional power plants. In employment terms – underlined Spada – the creation of over half a million jobs at a national level is expected by 2050, as well as the creation of 52 thousand new full-time jobs in the short term, exclusively linked to the construction phase
Italians also seem to be in favor of re-establishing relations with the atom: according to what was found by Intelligence Week polls, 51% of the Italians interviewed would vote in favor of the construction of new generation nuclear power plants in the event of a new consultative referendum and 65% regret having given up on the development of nuclear energy technologies in recent years.
Furthermore, six out of ten citizens they see favorably the implementation of new nuclear technologies in Italy.
NO MORE LARGE STATIONS, BUT MANY SMALL MODULES
The return of nuclear power to Italy will focus on latest technologies availableor SMRs, Small Modular Reactors, in place of the old nuclear power plants.
These are small nuclear reactors 300MWe can produce 7,200,000kWh per day and included by the European Community itself in the list of energy sources “promising” it’s at “low CO₂ emissions”.
These small nuclear power plants will be located in strategic points near population centers and will no longer be managed by the State, but by small local consortiaas illustrated by the Minister of the Environment:
I don’t expect large state power plants like in the past, but small reactors managed by business consortia. This already happens with photovoltaic and wind power systems. The government’s role will be to incentivize clean energy and the decarbonization market
Once again Pichetto Fratin’s position is supported by Urso, who added:
… The current geopolitical scenario is characterized by great uncertainty: the security of energy supplies and the sustainability of costs represent an indispensable lever to acquire strategic independence and keep our production system competitive… Starting from COP 28 in Dubai last December , until the recent European regulations on taxonomy and the Net Zero Industry Act, the strategic nature of nuclear power is increasingly recognized and shared. New generation technologies under development, such as Small Modular Reactors – based on cheaper, easier and faster construction processes than large conventional reactors – can encourage the spread and use of nuclear power. Furthermore, its size and reduced power also allow it to be used for the production of heat and hydrogen, close to the demand of industrial districts, making the objectives of decarbonisation more sustainable.
