The new president of Confindustria Emanuele Orsini returns to insist on nuclear power, a weapon of mass distraction that only serves to waste time in the energy transition and divert resources to the advantage of those who want to continue selling gas and oil. The Alleanza Verdi Sinistra candidate for the European elections in the north-east constituency Nicola Dall’Olio intervenes on the topic specifying:
“The nuclear micro-reactors that Orsini talks about, so dear to Calenda and Salvini who would like one near his home in Baggio, are a technology that simply does not exist, there is not a single example of a plant of this type under construction much less in operation on the planet. Coming to the technologies that exist, the problems encountered with nuclear power plants, leaving aside the issues of safety and management of radioactive waste (still unresolved in Italy), concern investment costs, construction times and the cost final kWh, which is no longer competitive with renewables (International Energy Agency data). The only new reactor under construction in Europe, that of Flamanville in France, is facing a delivery delay of 12 years. The works started in 2007, within an existing nuclear power plant, were to be completed in 2012. To date – highlights Dall’Olio – the reactor has yet to enter full production. Costs have risen over time and have reached the astronomical figure of 13 billion euros, as much as the Strait Bridge dear to the infrastructure minister. We are talking about 17 years to which we must add the time for the design and the authorization procedure. Assuming that in Italy there are a Municipality and a Region willing to host a reactor, we would have the first nuclear kWh, in the best case scenario, in 25 years. That is, when we should have already achieved the objective of climate neutrality and, equally importantly, energy autonomy. In the meantime – asks Dall’Olio – what do we do? Do we continue to burn fossil fuels, worsening the climate crisis, to the great delight of oil companies who are grinding out tens of billions of euros in extra profits to the detriment of citizens?”. The candidate Dall’Olio suggests to Orsini to deal with Elettricità Futura, the
section of Confindustria which brings together Italian electricity companies and which has long pointed out that in Italy projects for renewable energy production plants for a total power of 180 GW are awaiting authorisation, more than double what we would have to install to reach the the 2030 objective of the National Energy Climate Plan (65% of gross final electricity consumption, a very unambitious objective). “Future Electricity could also explain to Orsini that in the world, in 2022, out of 360 GW of new electrical power installed, 300 will be from renewables. And that China alone installs about half of it, 140 GW per year compared to 45 in the EU. It means that nuclear power is already out of the market – concludes Dall’Olio – The technologies and solutions for decarbonisation, energy autonomy and the distributed production of low-cost electricity are already there. With the climate crisis we are experiencing, it is simply irresponsible to waste time resorting to chimeras that don’t exist to continue burning gas and oil.”
